Monday's Homeschool spotlight is hosted at Stacy's blog - as I was reading her suggestions for being prepared to homeschool through high school, I thought I should share about a curriculum we started using this year that has been working out very well.  Some of the parents I've talked with that are approaching the high school years with their students are concerned about teaching literature and writing skills at a high school level, especially those of us that didn't major in English Lit in college!  I don't know about other states or homeschool associations, but for us, our high school English course must include some literature study as well as grammar and composition.  Another required course for us is US History or Civics.  I started about a year ago to look for a curriculum that would meet the US History course credit requirement, AND hopefully be appealing to my oldest son.  I browsed all kinds of things and also started asking homeschool parents that had high schoolers or had recently graduated their high schoolers.  I finally got a recommendation from a lady in our group that just hit me as "perfect" and so now I am passing on this recommendation to other homeschool families whenever I have the chance.

What is particularly exciting about this curriculum is that it is THREE credits in ONE course!  when I first mentioned it to Harrison, he said he wanted to do it even before seeing anything else about it.  He is working on Exploring America which earns one full credit each in US History, American Literature, and Bible.

The books are non-consumables, so my other kids will be studying from them as well!  The lessons are laid out in daily plans so that the student can do everything on their own.  Each unit is four days of history study and one day of related Bible study.  There are novels, essays, poetry, and speeches for assigned reading, and each is from or about the time period being studied in the History portion.  I found that I already owned several of the novels assigned, and have been able to find all but one of the others at a bargain price. 

And my son, who claims he doesn't like to read, has not complained about this course at all! 

I am about to buy the World History, and the US Government courses from Notgrass as well. 

If you can combine courses and earn more than one credit for a course, do it!  Its definitely a more efficient way to study.

• Science Explorer - fun experiments and demonstrations for even the youngest kids.  Bubbles, ooze, salt volcanoes, etc. 
• The Science of Baseball - fun way to see some practical application of science.
• The Science of Cooking - recipes along with explanations of the chemistry involved in making (and enjoying!) candy, bread, pickles, etc.
• Weather Questions - I used this site a lot last year when teaching meteorology to my kids and to a co-op class.  The author speaks out against the global warming hysteria too.
• How Stuff Works - I think this is a favorite site of many homeschoolers!  I've found so many interesting things there!

• Purple Math - when we don't understand something in math/algebra, we check here.  The explanations are clear and very helpful.

• Founding Documents - view text of historical documents online, there's a long list that includes the US Constitution, the Federalist Papers, the Magna Carta, etc.
• Mr Dowling.com - kid-friendly site with world history (some references to an evolution worldview, but those are confined to the "prehistory" sections)
• Digital History - I found this site fairly recently and am still finding out what it offers.  Ther's an online textbook, interactive timelines, and tons of links and helps for teaching US history.
• MrDonn.org - history and social studies lesson plans and links.  TONS of great stuff, including the very cute clip-art by Philip Martin.  (Just ignore the Cro-Magnon unit.  LOL)

• Educational Resources and Lesson Plans - listing of websites with lesson plans and educational activities, sorted by subject (Science, Geography, Literature, Music, etc) and by topic.  The listings include the grade level the lesson is intended for as well.  I usually try this site before googling, and have found some real gems.

Record-Keeping

• TGHomesoft's  Homeschool Tracker  (I can't get the link box to work right now, but I do have a link to the Tracker in my sidebar) - this is a tool I couldn't manage without.  Record-keeping of all kinds made easy.  I have been using the Premium version for a couple of years now (which is only $30 - a great deal, and well worth it once you've got kids in middle school or high school, in my opinion) but there is also a free version.  I used that for a few years before upgrading. 

The library is our other free resource that I couldn't manage without.  We have our internet service through the library (it's dial-up, which is our only option other than satellite, but it is CHEAP!!!), and I love that our library system has an online catalog and account info.  I can search for books, renew them, and request them online.  There is also a "My List" feature where I can keep a personal list - or several sub-lists - of resources that I want to remember, but don't want to sign out at the time.  The inter-library loan system can be accessed online too.  I really feel bad for homeschoolers that don't have a fabulous library system like ours!

My resources for personal encouragement and commisseration with other homeschool moms include online communities too.  Of course there's Homeschool Blogger, through which I've "met" so many wonderful homeschoolers.  I drop in at The Homeschool Lounge occasionally as well, but I just don't have enough time to get super-involved there.  I participate in an email group and a couple of online message boards with other homeschooling moms.   And what better way to find websites that are helpful than from other homeschoolers online!  I bet I got several of the above-named sites from someone in the blogosphere or message board world. 

This week’s theme is about sharing your 2008-09 homeschool agendas and plans. You’ve been preparing your plans for sometime and you’re ready to go. Or you’re still in the planning-stage and need some inspiration or tips on what to use. Because many use different curriculum and methods there is always something new to be gleaned from other homeschoolers. It’s always fun and interesting to see what other’s are using and the WWWWH as Robin Sampson suggests. So this week I hope you will share what you’re doing this year for your homeschool agenda. Share the different curriculum you’re using. You can also include what age/grade you’re using it for, how long you’ve been using it, and why you like it.

Please share a Bible verse that has encouraged you or inspired you during this planning-process, and how.

 One thing I've figured out already, is that if I want to do these Memoirs, I will have to get them done on Tuesday if I want any hope of keeping up!  Here is my plan for this school year...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harrison (Grade 11)

• English - Bob Jones Writing & Grammar 11
• Math - Saxon Algebra 2
• History - Notgrass Exploring America (this course will earn him 1 credit in American Lit and 1 credit in Bible as well as the American History credit!)
• Science - Physics, using Backyard Ballistics by William Gurstelle, and Exploring the World of Physics by John Hudson Tiner, as well as other resources. 
• Phys.Ed. - co-op gym class
• Fine Arts - haven't made a decision on this yet - I have a course I'd like to do that would focus on the History of Western Music, and he is also interested in Graphic Design or something like that.  Whatever we decide will be for second semester anyway.

Spencer (Grade 8/9)

• Language Arts/English - AlphaOmega LifePacs Language Arts 8, and if all goes well we will at least start on LifePac 9.  Also Sequential Spelling.
• Math - Saxon Math 8/7; then starting on Saxon Algebra 1/2
• History - I'm doing a series of unit studies on American History with Spencer, Landon, and Kennady; and using all kinds of different resources.  We've started the year by researching and making a lapbook of the explorers that discovered, explored, and mapped North America.  For the remainder of the year, I have some books by Janis Herbert, the unit study guide Pioneers by Amanda Bennett, and lots of study guides and a LONG list of resources to use from the library.  I'm really excited about this, because I'm trying to make it very hands-on, and I absolutely love history. 
• Science - God's Design for the Physical World series.  We've started with the book Machines & Motion and will do Heat & Energy in second semester.  This is also a course that Landon and Kennady are doing.
• Phys.Ed. - co-op gym class
• Fine Arts - maybe the History of Western Music course.  Spencer likes to draw and cartoon, and I have several books here and on my wish list that I'm considering to help develop his talent.  But I haven't got anything solidly planned yet.

Landon (Grade 4)

• Language Arts - AlphaOmega LifePacs Language Arts 4; and Sequential Spelling
• Math - Modern Curriculum Press Math D
• History - same as Spencer
• Science - same as Spencer
• Phys.Ed. - co-op gym class, and baseball in the spring.  Consdiering swim lessons.
• Fine Arts - same as Spencer

Kennady (Grade 2)

• Language Arts - Teach Your Children to Read Well; and Sequential Spelling
• Math - Modern Curriculum Press Math B
• History - same as Spencer
• Science - same as Spencer
• Phys.Ed. - co-op gym class, and softball in the spring.  Considering swim lessons.
• Fine Arts - Draw! Write! Now! series and other drawing instruction.  Piano lessons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I use (and LOVE) the Homeschoool Tracker Plus for keeping track of assignments, grades, and lesson plans.  As far as scheduling, I have a daily schedule that we try to keep to, but its very flexible.  It just gives the kids (okay... Landon in particular) a framework for knowing what comes next, and gives us all some targets to shoot for.  We start our day at 8:30am by assigning the daily chores and for now, some Read-Aloud time for the younger kids.  If we do decide to do the Music course this year, that will be first thing in the morning.  Harrison does all his schoolwork independently, and the other boys do about half of their work independently, so they may decide how to organize their days within the schedule.

I haven't chosen our Theme Scripture for this year, but it may well be this one:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the LORD as a reward.  It is the LORD Christ you are serving.  (Colossians 3:23-24)

For more of these posts, or to sign up, visit:  The Homeschool Blog Awards

I'm very excited about a new website offered by SoCalVal - I've already bookmarked it and have started exploring.  Thanks, Val!!  She is having a contest on her blog to celebrate the launch of the new site.  Check out her blog for those details, as well as the new site:

Weblink Education

No more guessing if a site is for teachers only,
No more wondering what a particular website offers,
No more guessing if the material you're viewing is free or not,
And no more jumping around from site to site to find something you need...

It's all done for YOU - by Homeschool Moms, like YOU. 
All Weblinks are Mom tested and Mom approved!

Welcome to my "display table" at the Homeschool Open House 2007!   Thank you, Tiany, for this marvellous idea.  To participate in the Open House, or to read the other participant's entries, visit Tiany to see how!

We are getting ready to start our tenth year of homeschooling this fall.  My four children are: Harrison (10th grade); Spencer (7th/8th grade); Landon (3rd grade); and Kennady (1st grade).  I usually describe us as being "eclectic" homeschoolers, which in my case is a nice way of saying that I am not very well-organized!  But I do use resources from a number of different publishers and have made up my own curriculum in some cases, so I guess maybe we would fit into the definition of eclectic. 

I haven't worked out our daily schedule for the next school year, but in general, this is what we did over the past year:

• 8:00am - Bible reading
• 8:30am - Classes start - work independently
• 9:30am - younger three meet with me to study Science or History
• 10:30am - Younger two work on Math and Reading, with my help, and the older two work independently 
• Lunch Break
• 1:00pm till 3:00pm - more independent work time or class time with me. 

That's VERY general... I am personally not good at keeping to a schedule, but I did find that I needed one to keep Landon focused.  We just amended that schedule to suit the day - for instance on Fridays we attend a gym class in the afternoon, so there are no afternoon classes.  During part of the year, the younger kids attend a co-op class on Thursday afternoons, so that's different.  And at least once a week, I have other commitments during the day that we have to work around.  But since the oldest two can do almost all their schoolwork on their own, it generally works out okay.  The biggest change to the schedule for the new school year will be that Harrison will be joining the rest of us for History/Social Studies at least some of the time.  I am still toying with the schedule to make that work.

I make up weekly assignment lists/log sheets for Harrison and Spencer, detailing when assignments are due, and we try to allow them to manage their own schoolwork time.  I require things like one math lesson each day, and one hour of language arts each day, and a minimum of three hours total spent on schoolwork each day.  I knew that if I didn't specify that the Math and Language should be done each day, that Harrison would try to spend all day Thursday doing all the math for the week or something like that.  Which I don't think would be wise.  So far, this has worked well for us, but I know that I will have to jack up the minimums for Harrison in tenth grade so that he will not be tempted to laziness and the attitude of "I've got plenty of time". 

Here's the resources we will be using this year:

• Math - Saxon Algebra 1 for Harrison, Saxon 8/7 or Algebra 1/2 for Spencer (I'm kind of hoping for 1/2 but I will be giving him the placement test to make sure he's ready), Modern Curriculum Press for Landon and Kennady.  I've used MCP Math for k-6 and like it - it's simple to use and not expensive.  In Grade 6 or 7, we switch to Saxon.  This is the one subject where I'm really not open to change.  LOL
• Language Arts - Bob Jones Writing & Grammar 10 for Harrison (also a book called Essay Architect), Alpha Omega Lifepacs for Spencer and Landon, Teach Your Children to Read Well for Kennady.  This will be our first year using Bob Jones... Harrison wants to go into journalism, and a homeschool acquaintance of mine that has her degree in that field recommended BJU.  We used the Lifepacs for Harrison and Spencer the last couple years, and I like them because they are all-inclusive and because the kids can work on their own with so much of it.  I used Teach Your Children to teach Landon to read with great success, and I absolutely love that program.  Kennady started the program last year in Kinder.
• Science - Apologia Exploring Creation with Biology for Harrison, God's Design for for Heaven and Earth: Our Universe and Our Weather and Water for the other kids.  Harrison is taking a year and a half to complete Apologia Biology - he doesn't like it!  But I've already got some other Science resources that he thinks he will really enjoy for when he finishes Biology, so hopefully that will motivate him to slog through the more boring parts (which he thinks is the majority of it).  I used God's Design for Life with the younger kids last year and I do like that.  It's flexible enough for me to teach them together even with that big age/grade gap.  I haven't done any lesson planning for it yet, but I will use those two books as sort of a base and will skip some things and add things from other books to round out the whole year.  Some of the additional resources we plan to use are: Considering God's Creation (can't beat it for cut-and-paste projects that younger kids love); Exploring the World Around You and Exploring Planet Earth (both MasterBooks titles) - we've used some of these before, in particular the Chemistry and History of Medicine titles and the older boys really like them, in fact ASKED to use them.  I also have some books of weather experiments and the little Science & the Bible series books by Donald B. DeYoung which are very good.
• History/Social Studies - I am doing something different (for me) this year and using a "real" curriculum for History instead of making up my own.  This is because the structure of a book makes my life easier for figuring out how much credit Harrison earns, and because the book that I've chosen is already laid out for teaching that big age/grade gap that I'm dealing with again.  All four kids will be using Around the World in 180 Days.  Again, lots of extras thrown in too.
• Phys.Ed. - two sixteen-week semesters of gym class!
• Electives:  Music & The Masters as a basis for Music History/Appreciation for all four kids (haven't lesson planned this yet); Basic Photography for Harrison (Fine Arts 1/2 credit); various art resources for the younger kids;  Bible 1/2 credit for Harrison; and whatever else we find.   Harrison and I are also working on a plan for him to write a sports analysis and opinion blog that would earn him credit, since it's practical experience in sports journalism.  We are also keeping our eyes open for a public speaking class that would be suitable for Harrison.

Since the boys are able (and encouraged!) to work on their own on many school assignments, I'm very flexible about where and under what conditions they do the work.  Harrison prefers to lie on the sofa in the family room with low light and music on to do his work.  Spencer prefers to work at a desk in his bedroom with a bright desk lamp - with or without music, depending on his mood.  Landon and Kennady do their work either at the dining room table, or sprawled on the living room floor.  Whenever we do class time together - such as Science and History - that is done at the dining room table.  I've read quite a bit of Cynthia Tobias Ulrich's books discussing learning styles and generally my philosophy is that as long as the kids are learning and completing their work, they should be able to work whenever and wherever they are most comfortable - quiet or with music, low light or bright, desk or table or floor etc.  I will be placing a little more restriction on Harrison this year because I do think that he is being distracted by the music and background noise more than he realizes.

We are blessed to live in a state that requires very little of us - standardized testing is not required at any grade level, and since we are part of an accredited association, that group does our oversight and record-keeping so we don't have any dealings with the school board.  I keep records on the Homeschool Tracker Plus, which I LOVE and have been using for several years.  I keep grades, attendance, time spent, assignments, resource archives, and more on the Tracker.  If you don't already have it, visit TGHomesoft to download the Tracker - there is a free version and the more advanced Plus version (which is still a bargain IMO, I think I paid $30 for it)  If I am making recommendations to homeschoolers, that is a resource that I mention almost every time.  I also like to encourage homeschool moms that worry about getting it all done by reminding them: You have 12 years to get it all done!!!  (if you're starting at Gr 1) and You can tailor your homeschool to suit your family.  Find the resources that work best for you and your child; set the schedule that works best for you; take family vacations whenever it suits you; and each child can work at each subject at the pace that's best for them. 

Blessings,

Kym

So I was reading blogs this morning, and found this tag on Jacque's "Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths" Since I am currently in lesson-planning, goal-setting mode, I thought it would be fun to do this.  I am not going to tag anyone else either, but if you'd like to do this too, please leave me a comment.  I like getting ideas and inspiration from the many different homeschooling things we all do!

Here goes:

I started homeschooling ________ years ago (or year)

In the fall of 1997, when Harrison was 5 and starting Grade 1.   

I homeschool __ of my children

All four of our children.

 I teach my children to read at age(specific age or not?)

I started each of them with "formal" phonics during Kindergarten (except Harrison, who never did K!) but I do tend to follow their lead as far as readiness.  Harrison was reading a lot of sight words by age 3 and learned quite a bit before I ever gave him his first workbook. 

A few of my most favorite homeschool teaching resources are:

The library!! LOL 

Do you write out goals for school each year?

Sort of... I do like to write down some character and discipline goals for each child at the beginning of the school year, especially for the younger ones. 

What time do you start school each day? Do you have a specific schedule?

Last school year, we usually started about 8:30 with Bible reading.  I tried to keep to a loose schedule with Landon and Kennady.  I'm not good with rigid schedules, but I see the need to have something to keep us (ME!) on track.

I have used ___ math programs. My favorite is:

Two, Modern Curriculum Press and Saxon. I like both - we've used, and will continue to use MCP for Grades 1-6, and Saxon for Grade 7 and up.

I have used ___ science programs. My favorite is:

Five or Six? Wow.  A Beka, MasterBooks, Considering God's Creation, Apologia, God's Design for Life, and I have developed my own curriculum too.  I really like the God's Design series that I am currently using with the younger three kids.  Harrison is doing Apologia and he does NOT like it, which makes us feel rather oddball in the homeschooling community.  LOL  The MasterBooks ones are very good, and my boys really enjoyed those. 

I have used ___ grammar/english programs. My favorite is:

Four so far - Christian Liberty Press, A Beka, Alpha Omega Lifepac, Teach Your Children to Read Well. We will make it five this coming year when Harrison starts using Bob Jones.  I like the AO Lifepacs because they are all-inclusive and the boys could work through them on their own.  I have really enjoyed the Teach Your Children To Read Well books for beginning phonics.  It's similar to the 100 Easy Lessons book, but there's more to it.

I have used ___ history programs. My favorite is:

Four so far - Christian Liberty Press, A Beka, Rod & Staff, and our self-developed program.  This year we will be using Around the World in 180 Days.  I have loved the do-it-yourself program, but the drawback now is that I've got a big age gap between the oldest and youngest, and I wanted something that would make it easier ON ME.  I have started working on planning the lessons with 180 Days, and I think we will like it - I will anyway!

During what months do you homeschool?

It varies.  Our school year usually starts in August and runs through June.  Usually there is some Summer School for the kids to do as well, but a lighter schedule.

Favorite homeschool method?

???? I don't know.  Relaxed.  LOL 

Do you/plan to homeschool all the way through high school?

Absolutely.

Have you noticed specific learning styles in each child?

Yes, I have.  I've always been interested in learning styles, so I started reading up on this early in our homeschool adventures.  Some things I've noticed - Harrison likes low light and prefers to have music or some background noise, while Spencer seems to be distracted by any and all noise.  He also tends to work under a fairly bright desk lamp when he can.  Kennady seems to be very visual so far.  Landon likes to DO.

Do you keep specific or general records? Or none, really?

I have the Homeschool Tracker Plus on the computer and I keep fairly specific records on there - school days, time spent, assignments, grades, etc. 

Do you teach Bible, art, journaling, phys. ed.?

Bible - yes.  We do a reading each school day.  We require at least one credit in Bible for the high school years as well.  Art - sort of.  We do some art projects along the way, as they fit into our History and Science lessons.  I also have some art books and DVDs for the kids as they are interested.  Usually our co-op classes have included some art instruction, for which I'm grateful!  Journaling - no.  Phys.Ed - we have a great co-op Phys.Ed. class that meets the credit hour requirements.

Where do you like to shop for homeschool books and resources?

The MACHE curriculum fair, and Christian Book Distributors are the two from which I buy the most. 

What resources have you been itching to try?

I've often been very tempted by The Mystery of History, but I don't see us using that one at this point.  I want to get the Art Elective Lifepac at some point - for Spencer.  I'm considering the Prairie Primer for when Kennady is a little older.

Do you use and/or like to use E-books?

I really haven't used them.  I don't like reading on the computer, so I don't think it would be great for us. 

First of all, I have to put up a picture of the flag - because today is Flag Day and I am not flying mine outside due to the rain this morning.  (it's not raining now, but I'm sitting at the computer, so....)

Yeah I know I posted that before too.  LOL  (It's Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia)

Well I put the report cards in the mail yesterday, so our "official" part of the school year is complete.  There are a few things that will be done during our version of Summer School in order to tie up the loose ends, and Harrison will probably opt to work on a couple things over the summer for which he'll be awarded credits next year.

Here is the final report on our 2006-2007 school year:

Harrison

• AlphaOmega Lifepacs Language Arts 9 - not quite complete, but will be done during Summer School.  The best part about this was that he did actually apply himself to the material, even that which did not particularly interest him, once he'd decided on a career path in journalism.  Language Arts tends to be important to that field of study, I would think.
• Saxon Algebra 1/2 - a lesson or two left to finish, and the final test. 
• World History - as complete as it's going to be.  LOL  By which I mean, I originally thought we would cover more material than what we actually did, but I'm not disappointed.
• Apologia Exploring Creation with Biology - he did not like this book and literally slogged through the first few chapters that he did complete.  At the end of the first semester I realized he was not going to finish this book in just one year, and boy howdy I was right.  Maybe I should have leaned on him to work harder, because I'm thinking that once he got to more complex animals it might have held more interest, but  it's too late for that now.  So - he WILL be completing this course by the end of first semester in 2007-2008.
• Phys.Ed. - we had no trouble at all meeting requirements for a 1/2 credit here.  He did two sixteen week semesters of co-op Phys.Ed. class, plus all the paintball and basketball tournaments, and rec softball - not a problem counting up the credit hours.
• Fine Arts - Photography - this is the course that I think I'll have him work on over the summer, hopefully complete during the summer.  We did the introduction part of the course, the written work, and then ran into the spring fever era and never actually got the camera working. 

Spencer

• AlphaOmega Lifepacs Language Arts 6 - not quite complete, but will be done over the summer.  Spencer has struggled with reading, spelling and handwriting, so these books are challenging him, and I have been pleased with his progress.  I don't think he will likely choose a career that involves writing though.
• Saxon Math 7/6 - again, not quite complete, but very close.  I've had to go over some things more times than enough, but for the most part he has done really well with Saxon Math.
• God's Design For Life:  The Animal Kingdom - we finished this science course early in the spring.  I had this great ambition to get through an abbreviated course with another book in the series, The World of Plants, but there was that whole spring fever thing.  LOL We finished this book, so anything else was just "gravy"
• World History - same idea as Harrison
• Phys.Ed. - two sixteen week co-op classes
• Art - on his own, and a 12 week co-op class

Landon

• Teach Your Children to Read Well, Level 1B - he finished this in January.  He can read almost anything I put in front of him now.  (not always a good thing LOL)  He can hardly wait to start on Grade Three material.
• MCP Math Level B - finished right on schedule.  Could have finished much earlier if not for the precious hours spent playing with grandparents.  But there are no complaints about that!  He still mostly enjoys Math, so that's great.
• Science and History were the same as what Spencer did
• Phys.Ed. - two sixteen week co-op classes, plus spring baseball
• Art and music - 12 week co-op class

Kennady

• I had several phonics and beginning reading books that we "played" with.  Like Landon at the same age, she is not really interested in reading - she would far rather do Math.   However, we did some lessons, and she does know all her letters, many sight words, and one activity she really enjoys is copying words in a notebook.  I think that she is learning quite a bit with this, because then she and I will talk about what words she found and how the letters make those sounds.
• MCP Math Level K - finished about six weeks ago.  This is what she really enjoyed.
• Science and History were the same as what Spencer did.  She really liked Science, and was sometimes yes, sometimes no when it came to History. 
• Phys.Ed. - two sixteen week co-op classes, plus spring baseball
• Art and music - 12 week co-op class

PlainJane asked in a comment if we had a lot of regulations and deadlines to meet in our state - actually we don't!  Maryland is, I have found, a very easy state for homeschooling.  We are under the supervision of an accredited umbrella group that does our oversight.  We do need to report grades to our oversight and they review portfolios of our children's progress.  But because they are fellow homeschoolers, dedicated to seeing home education succeed, they are understanding and work with us.  The umbrella group keeps our records and issues valid report cards and transcripts for our students - so because I want report cards, and a transript, that is why I had a deadline to get those grades in!  Also, we are not required to do standardized testing at any grade level.  I'm very glad of this, as two of my boys are nowhere near ready for timed tests.  One just works too slowly to be able to handle that anxiety.  The other is still too stubborn and would likely refuse to do a test if he was being timed.  LOL

• Modern Curriculum Press Math A for Kennady
• Modern Curriculum Press Math C for Landon
• Saxon 8/7 Tests and Worksheets for Spencer (I will not buy it today though, unless I find a real deal – I want to give Spencer the placement test when he is finished 7/6 or almost, just in case we can skip to Algebra ½, in which case I won’t need to buy him anything)
• Saxon Algebra 1 Homeschool package for Harrison

• Teach Your Children to Read Well, Level 1B workbook (?) for Kennady
• Teach Your Children to Read Well, Level 2 (?) for Landon
• AO Lifepac 3 (?) for Landon
• AO Lifepac 7 for Spencer
• AO Lifepac 10 for Harrison (or ----???)
• Student Writing Intensive for Harrison

• God’s Design for Heaven and Earth: Our Weather and Water
• God’s Design for Heaven and Earth: Our Universe
• God’s Deisgn for Heaven and Earth: Our Planet Earth

• Around the World in 180 Days

• John Hudson Tiner titles to add to our collection, such as Champions of Invention, Champions of Science, etc.
• The Privileged Planet, DVD
• AO Lifepac Electives: Art (although I’ve discovered it’s possible this is available through our library!)
• Universe by Design, by Danny Faulkner
• Roots and Fruits: A Comprehensive Vocabulary Curriculum
• ILumina Homeschool edition CD-ROM
• Exploring Weather, and Exploring Outer Space, both by Stephanie Finke

This Friday and Saturday is the MACHE curriculum fair, so sometime during the week I need to finalize my master list.  I try to have a "system" when I go to the curriculum fair so that I don't get sucked into the temptation of impulse purchases and so that I know I'm getting the best prices.  I make a list of all the curricula and books that I know I will purchase and note the prices of those items at various online sources.  I also list items that I'm interested in but want to see "in person" before deciding and the online prices.  Another money-saving idea that I try to use - provided I have time - is to make my first pass through the vendors without my pocketbook.  I add info to my list of anything I see that I think I'd like to have, then I can go back home (if I attend the fair two days) or back to my vehicle and review the list and think and pray about what I will actually buy before going back in armed with a checkbook and credit card. 

I was hoping this year to attend CHAP as well, but I think I will have to let go of that dream.  Some year it will happen, but probably not this year.  DH works every Saturday during this season, and the kids will have baseball games, so I think that Saturday will see me at the local ballparks instead of at the convention hall.  I will check the kids' schedules today to make sure though.

I'm also going to make a list of things I'd like to do with my blog, while I am in list mode.  I've never used the categories feature and I think it's about time I do that.  If I ever have the time I'd like to play with the background, and I am very remiss in including photos. 

It's occurred to me over the past week or so that it's getting very close to the time to make decisions about next year's curricula!  I love making the decisions and then making lesson plans.  The last several years I have eagerly looked forward to the day when I allow myself to sit down and write up lesson plans for Science and History.  It's FUN for me.  How odd.  And I have to force myself to wait until we are finished (or nearly so) with the current year's plans before I start making plans for the next year.

The downside to this time of year - for me - is that I am personally running out of steam to finish the year.  I guess that is why we need spring break every year.  We are doing very well with Science, but haven't got as far as I would have liked in History. 

I'm starting to look at possibilities for next year, as I want to be well-prepared by the time I go to the MACHE curriculum fair.  I need to do something a little different with History next year because of the age gap between Spencer and Landon.  I don't want to actively teach two different classes and yet I don't want to just hand Spencer an assignment list and leave him to his own devices.  Harrison handles that reasonably well, but Spencer is a very different student.  The front-runner in my list of possibilities is Around the World in 180 Days.  That seems to be a good spine from which I can give grade-appropriate work to all four kids.  I've also looked at the offerings from Beautiful Feet, which I like, but would still put me in the position of having at least two different "classes" to deal with. 

Language Arts also requires some adjustments - I need to decide what to do with Landon, whether to stay with the program he's been using (Teach Your Children to Read Well), or switch to AlphaOmega LifePacs.  Cost is roughly the same, so that's no tie-breaker.  LOL  Another possibility I'm considering for him, is no specific program, but just using the "leftover" spelling and handwriting things we already have to shore up his skills.  He reads VERY well, so assigned reading will keep him sharp with that.  I suppose what I'll need to look at specifically is the grammar skills for third grade, and decide whether I can keep him caught up with those on my own, or whether one of the curricula I'm considering will offer a clear advantage in that area.  Since Harrison is considering ("pursuing" seems a little too aggressive a term at this point LOL) journalism, I feel he needs to really focus his Language Arts study in writing and lots of it.  So I am about 99.9% sure I will invest in the Institute for Excellence in Writing course for him.  It's a bigger initial outlay but I think worthwhile.  And he can repay me once he gets a high-paying job as a globe-trotting sports reporter.  LOL  One of the moms in our homeschool support group is hoping to bring Mr Pudewa (author of the program) to our area for a 3-day workshop in the fall, so if that works out, won't it be wonderful!?! 

If there's anyone among my little group of readers that has experience with any of those curricula, please leave a comment and give me your review!

I have to mail in a list of the curriculum we plan to use this year to our oversight group.  This has always been easy, because up until high school it's just a matter of writing down the names of the books I hope to use and -- done!  That was easy.  (I want one of those 'buttons' from that office supply place)  But of course with high school, we have to include our plan for credits.  The core subjects are straight forward, but I had to think much harder about how many credit hours Harrison will be able to complete in things like Bible and Phys.Ed. for which we're not using a "standard" textbook.  Then there's the issue of Electives, Fine Arts and Technology.  It is downright strange for me - a very spontaneous, seat-of-my-pants person - to try and come up with a four-year plan that includes all the required courses and is still somewhat practical. 

These are the minimum requirements set forth by our oversight group for an academic diploma:

• 1 credit - Bible
• 4 credits - English (must include Literature and Creative Writing)
• 3 credits - Social Studies (U.S. History + two others)
• 3 credits - Math (Algebra I + two others)
• 2 credits - Science (Biology + one other)
• 1 credit - Physical Education
• 1 credit - Technology
• 1 credit - Fine Art
• 5 credits - Electives (any course not required to fulfill another requirement)

And now - our plan for this year:

• Bible - Faith Lessons from the Holy Land series - 1/2 credit
• English - Alpha Omega Lifepacs (+ literature) - 1 credit
• World History - self-developed - 1 credit
• Math (Pre-Algebra) - Saxon Algebra 1/2 - 1 credit
• Biology - Apologia - 1 credit
• Phys.Ed. - co-op class - 1/2 credit
• Photography (Fine Arts) - online course - 1/2 credit

Figuring out how many credit hours we would log in Bible and Phys.Ed. was harder than I'd first thought.  LOL  Apparently many students spread their 1 Phys.Ed. credit over four years, earning 1/4 credit each year.  I figured with the gym class plus the extra sports Harrison does, he should easily be able to log 60 credit hours in one year. 

The Fine Arts requirement is a challenge for us, as Harrison was just not interested in any of the options.  He finally picked out Photography as something that he would be interested in, and I think that's a good match for him.  He is always taking my camera and shooting pictures, and he did a Caravan elective badge in Photography a few years ago, and enjoyed that.  So... how to find a way to make that a high school credit course.  Hmmmmm... I looked at the community college offerings, but for this semester the classes (online and in-house) had already started.  And were kind of pricey anyway!  And I really was not interested in driving him across the county for a class once a week.  Thanks to an online friend's google search  (Dini), we think we've found what we want - an online Photography for Homeschoolers course.  It's designed to be completed in one semester and would be worth a half credit.  I thought the price was reasonable too, which is a big consideration.  Here's the hitch - we'll have to acquire another camera, as mine do not have manual focus and shutter speed.  (I'm the classic "photos for dummies" model - strictly point and shoot  LOL)  So.... I listed that as something we're going to do this year, starting in second semester.  That gives us some time to look for a camera at a price we can afford. 

Now it's time for school.  Spencer was up already but not feeling good, so I'll have to see how he's doing.  Maybe he'll get some time off today.

I happened to read Stef's blog this morning and she said any of her readers could consider themselves tagged.  So here goes:

1) ONE HOMESCHOOLING BOOK YOU HAVE ENJOYED

Pretty much everything by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias.  The most recent title of hers that I read wasn't directly related to homeschooling, but was very interesting: I Hate School.

(Gotta love the title.  LOL)

2) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT

My computer in general - and my Homeschool Tracker specifically.

3) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BOUGHT

I have a Bible curriculum that I probably shouldn't have purchased.  Don't get me wrong, it's great stuff, but we just haven't ever got around to using it!  I'd say the same about The Story of the World.  By the time I acquired a copy of it, we were partway through a self-developed history course, and I didn't want to change gears.  So I have this marvellous book that I have never used.  Someday I'll find a nice home for it.

4) ONE RESOURCE YOU ENJOYED LAST YEAR

MasterBooks Exploring the World of Chemistry  and Exploring the History of Medicine.  My kids ASKED to study from these books, and generally cheered when I said "okay, we're going to do the next chapter in the medicine book" 

5) ONE RESOURCE YOU WILL BE USING NEXT YEAR

Apologia Science

6) ONE RESOURCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY

A second computer!

7) ONE RESOURCE YOU WISH EXISTED

As much as I like Stef's idea of an "art teacher in a box" I think I'd like a housekeeper in a box.  That way I could teach all day without concerning myself about things like dishes, laundry, and dusting.

8) ONE HOMESCHOOLING CATALOGUE YOU ENJOY READING

Truthfully, I have learned to not tempt myself.  LOL  But I do look at the Answers in Genesis online store and dream quite often.  And I always carefully browse through the Christian Book Distributors homeschool catalogs.

9) ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE YOU USE REGULARLY

Wow, I have a bunch.  This year I plan to use Mr Donn's and Mrs Donn's websites again for History (really nice ancient history stuff - just ignore the pages about cavemen! LOL)  I refer my oldest ds to PurpleMath when he is having trouble with algebra and my explanations don't help.  I just have a really long list of sites in my Homeschool Bookmark list!

10) TAG FIVE OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS

I'll use Stef's approach here: If you feel like being tagged, consider yourself tagged!

School starts in one week!  Here is what we'll be using this year:

Harrison - Grade 9

Saxon Algebra 1/2 - Math

     Alpha Omega Lifepac 9 - Language Arts

  Apologia - Science

   Kingfisher History Encyclopedia provides the 'backbone' for our self-developed History study.

I expect this to be a huge help in History - blackline maps from Knowledge Quest. Click Here!

Spencer - Grade 6/7

Saxon Math 7/6

    Alpha Omega Lifepac 6 - Language Arts

  God's Design for Life: The Animal Kingdom - Science

  God's Design for Life: The World of Plants - Science (not all of this book, just a start!)

  Considering God's Creation - Science supplement

  Kingfisher History Encyclopedia - backbone of our self-developed History study

  Blackline Maps of World History, from Knowledge Quest - History supplementClick Here!

Landon - Grade 2

  Modern Curriculum Press Mathematics B

  Teach Your Children to Read Well - Level 1B (and maybe Level 2)

  God's Design for Life: The Animal Kingdom - Science

  God's Design for Life: The World of Plants - Science (just a start!)

  Considering God's Creation - Science supplement

  The Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World - backbone of self-developed History

  Blackline maps of World History from Knowledge Quest - History supplementClick Here!

Kennady - Kindergarten

  Modern Curriculum Press Mathematics K

  Teach Your Children to Read Well - Level 1A (and maybe 1B, depending on how fast she wants to work)

  God's Design for Life: The Animal Kingdom - Science

  God's Design for Life: The World of Plants - Science (just a start!)

  Considering God's Creation - Science supplement

  The Kingfisher Book of the Ancient World - backbone of self-developed History

 Blackline maps of World History by Knowledge Quest - History supplementClick Here!

This is a start - we will be using many other books and resources as we go along, and I have in mind a Bible study course to do with the older boys, which we would probably start in January.  We'll also be studying some Art, Music and Literature.

Where do I get this stuff?  Mostly from Christian Book Distributors.  I've provided links to Knowledge Quest (for the maps) above.  Other sources:  Apologia.com; Answers in Genesis;

Teach Your Children Well

Well, today is the big day.  It marks the "official" end of this school year.  I've printed out report cards and lists of resources used already.  I'll have to look at whether there are any other reports that are worth printing for the evaluation - probably not.  Last night I put together the books that I will need to take along, and everything is pretty much ready to go. 

I must say that when I looked at the work on paper that Landon and Kennady had done over the year (History and Science), it was pretty unimpressive.  Depressingly few pieces of paper.  But my spirits were lifted when I printed the Resources Used report from my Homeschool Tracker - it included a wonderful variety of books read aloud, books on tape, music, and videos.  So I'm definitely taking those lists to show that although my Grade 1 student appears to have done nothing other than reading and math - he has in fact studied diverse subject matter including the art of the Renaissance, Shakespeare, American history, pirates, and inventions.  All the kids listened to Don Quixote and The Three Musketeers as books on tape.  We listened to, and discussed the styles of composers Back, Handel, and Mozart.  We learned about the lives and scientific contributions of Louis Pasteur and Marie Curie.  We read aloud childrens adaptations of Hamlet and Macbeth.  We learned about the lives and art of Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo.  Landon and Kennady certainly didn't generate much paper, but I think we had some great learning experiences this year! 

This morning I'm obviously under a little bit of a time crunch, but I think next week I will try to copy at least part of our Resources Used lists here, maybe even with some reviews. 

Yesterday I stopped at the library with Kennady and got her signed up for the Summer Reading program.  She is SO EXCITED to be signed up for the "reading test" LOL  A big draw for her was the free ticket to a Frederick Keys baseball game - I can't remember the date of the game, so I sure hope it's one we can attend!  She will be very disappointed if we don't.  Anyway, the "reading test" will be part of her Summer School experience. 

I've been busy, and away from the computer for several days, so now it's time to get caught up! 

Friday evening, I went to the curriculum fair - and we now have Science curriculum for the next school year!  I am excited and looking forward to starting, the little kids are sort of excited, and Harrison is just pretty much bummed.  LOL  His textbook does look a little intimidating, I guess.  He will be doing this:

    http://www.highschoolscience.com/">Apologia

I bought some Science books for the younger kids too.  These:

There is one more book in the "God's Design for Life" series, and two more in the "God's Design for Heaven and Earth" series, but I bought what was in stock at the sale.  I won't need the others for awhile anyway.  These series, and many other wonderful resources come from the awesome people at Answers in Genesis.  Check out their website if you're not already familiar with them.  It's fascinating! 

So it looks like we'll be changing gears with Science a little bit.  Instead of writing my own curriculum from scratch, I'm going to be using the Answers in Genesis materials for the younger kids and then using Apologia for them when they reach High School.  Writing my own curriculum was working great when I started with a 4th grade and 6th grade student, but in the fall I will be teaching Kindergarten and Grade 2 along with a Grade 6/7 student, so I felt that I needed a little more of a "script" that was already designed for multiple age levels. 

And I picked up another copy of  Considering God's Creation:

  I like to use the worksheets in this as a supplement to the other Science study.  I already had a couple copies of it and have used them very well over the last few years, so I decided it was time for a new one.

I also picked up one more book in the MasterBooks series that we've been enjoying so much:

This one is essentially a Geography course, so I'm not sure whether I'll teach it as such - a separate course, or find ways to integrate it into our other Science work.

I looked at (but did not buy) the Mystery of History books.  I'm contemplating that for the same reasons that I decided to buy Science curriculum... the age spread of the students I'll be teaching next year will be somewhat of a challenge.  I might try to borrow a copy from someone and look at it more carefully to see if I really need it.  (It's a book - I can probably convince myself that I need it.  LOL)

Having purchased all those Science books, I am now anxious to sit down and start lesson planning for the 2006-2007 school year - and we're not finished with THIS year yet!  I will have plenty to keep me occupied over the next month or so anyway - trying to get our current studies finished, and I will have company here for the next couple of weeks (my aunts are visiting from Winnipeg - they will arrive today.  Today then, will be another Home Ec focused day in order to prepare...).

Not much school happening here today.  Mainly because I won't be home most of the day!  This morning I'm headed out to a MOMS Club meeting.  Then after that I will come home and pick up the kids so we can go to the class party for the co-op classes that ended two weeks ago.  At least I don't have to make lunch - it's a pizza party!  And then Landon's baseball games start this evening.  So I'm not making dinner either - we will just get nachos or hot dogs at the concession stand.  How healthy, I know.  LOL

Here's today's History lesson:

1902:  Marie and Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive element radium.  This is another one of those neat science things we studied this year.  We watched an interesting HBO movie about Marie Curie called "More than Meets the Eye" 

It's a fictional story, based on fact of course, but these movies make historical figures more "personable" to kids.  We also watched a movie from the same series about Leonardo da Vinci.  That one was really good.  I've noticed there are also movies in the series about Einstein and Edison, so I'm hoping I can get copies of those from our library whenever we study those two great scientist/inventors.  (Have I mentioned before that I love our library?  It is pretty awesome for a mostly rural county library system)  Here's a link to a

website devoted to Marie Curie - we didn't have enough time for more than a quick look, but interesting nonetheless!

Also on this day in 1968:  Pierre Elliot Trudeau was sworn in as Canada's new prime minister. 

It's almost time for our Bible reading to start the morning, and then I will have to leave some homework/housework assignments for the boys while I am out this morning. 

We are finished Science for this school year!!!  We read through the last chapters of our "text" yesterday and answered the quizzes, and that is it for Science until August!

Here's the book we finished up with:

More info about it at: MasterBooks

We also studied this book by the same publisher:

 More about this title

A great deal of our science over the last three years has been based from this book:

It's available at Christian Book Distributors where I buy quite a bit of my homeschool materials. 

Using this method of lesson planning for Science and History has saved me quite a bit of money so far.  I bought the Science Encyclopedia and the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia a couple of years ago for about $30 each and have not had to buy any other curriculum materials for those subjects since.  I bought the MasterBooks texts last year as an add-on, and they have turned out to be really excellent books - and my boys like them and ASK to use them, so that turned out to be money well-spent!  Even with those books, they are reuseable, because I scan copies of the quizzes at the end of each chapter so the boys don't mark up the book, and each one has a copy of the quiz to put in their individual notebooks.

For this coming year, I will be buying a new Science curriculum for Harrison as he will be starting high school.  And I will probably go ahead and buy new materials for the other kids as well.  I will have a Grade 2 and a  Kindergarten student starting in the fall, so I need something geared to younger children for them.  I've looked at Apologia's early elementary Science books and have used Considering God's Creation in the past, so I will be choosing one of those.

Well, science aside, here's some history tidbits for today.  On this day in history:

In 1775: Paul Rever began his legendary midnight ride to Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, to warn patriots that British troops were approaching.

(We read Longfellow's poem "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" just a couple weeks ago as part of our overview of the American Revolution.  Got a thumbs-up from all the kids! You can read it here but I highly recommend the illustrated book we got from the library.)

In 1982:  Queen Elizabeth II signed the Constitution Act of 1982, which replaced the British North America Act of 1867 (which we studied last week) as Canada's Constitution.

The Encouragement Group meeting last night was fun and, as its name implies, encouraging!  One of the ladies shared a devotional thought from Jackie Wellwood's book 101 More Devotions for Homeschool Moms.  And we talked about the curricula we have used for different areas of Language Arts.  I learned about a literature course I hadn't seen before, but I'm really interested in it now.  (Should come as no surprise, considering that I'm a book-aholic! )  It's called Drawn into the Heart of Reading.  It was appealing to me because it's designed by a Christian homeschooling mom for teaching literature to more than one grade level at at once.  Here's a link to the teacher's guide available at CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=287100&netp_id=273460&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW

Kind of pricey, but I think it would be fun!  Well, I'm thinking about it.  I am not making any decisions until at or after the MACHE curriculum fair next month.

Here's today's historical tidbit:

On this day in 1867: The British North America Act establishes the Dominion of Canada, comprising the provinces of Québec, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.  Read about it at: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761572476

We've made it through another week! 

I've done two things that I hope I won't regret later on.  The first is pretty easy - showing some of the curriculum we use at my group's curriculum show and fair next Saturday.  The second could come back to haunt me later on - I have offered my help in coordinating co-op classes for next spring, and possibly even teaching, in the event that we need another class. 

Curriculum fair thoughts:  I belong to a fellowship and support group for homeschoolers in this area, which is separate from my oversight group.  The support group provides many of the extracurricular type activities for students and mothers - field trips, art shows, classes, fellowship opportunities,  etc.  In the spring the group usually sponsors a local curriculum fair where our members come and display materials we've used and are available to answer questions about it.  Also we can sell second-hand materials and some local booksellers (like the member who is also an Usborne dealer and owns a consignment book store) show and sell.  When they started looking for families willing to display their curriculum I kind of dismissed it because we have that so-called "eclectic" style of mixing and matching and writing some of our own.  Well, the coordinator emailed me and asked me specifically to show something and my reply was along the lines of "but what would I show, my library card?"  Anyway, long story short - I am going to pull together the main "textbook" sources I use for History and Science as well as some of the kids' work and display it.  I'm also taking the Math and Reading books that I use for the younger kids.  I guess it's quite possible that there will be someone there that might want to pull together their own curriculum but needs some idea of how it would work.  And I'm by no means an expert, but my thinking on that is: If I can pull that off, anyone can.  LOL  So I think that will be a fun day!

Co-op Class thoughts:  The co-op classes are something that my oversight group has been doing for several years.  It has always been very well organized, and we've been able to offer some neat classes - art, hands-on science, geography, journalism, and many other things.  The mom that has been coordinator the last couple of years is expecting a baby this summer and isn't sure she'll be able to handle the initial planning process that starts in August/September - the planning meetings and all of that.  I was asked if I'd consider taking on the coordinator position, but I am sooooooo NOT an administrator that I had to say No to that!  But I did offer to assist, and to pick up the slack for the current coordinator during those early months with her new baby.   So I may wind up being the person that sets up those planning meetings and does the mailings and phone calls to get the thing started.  I think I can handle that.  LOL  The other issue with co-op is finding teachers, and it seems like it's the oldest age group class that is the challenge.  Not in being hard to teach, but in finding subjects that are challenging and appealing to them.  I found one of my books that I think would lend itself pretty well to a co-op appropriate unit study type of class, and I'd be willing to teach it if I had a partner to teach with me.  Although honestly, I am still hoping that other teachers will step up so that I don't have to do that.   It's not that I don't want to, it's more that I fear it will be far more time-consuming than I'll be able to handle.  But there's plenty of time between now and then, so I'm going to just wait and see.