Ben and Me - Homeschool Blogger

Mrs. Beasley and Me, Then and Now

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:07:02 -0600

In 1967, the year I turned 4, all I wished for Christmas was the Mrs. Beasley doll that Buffy played with on Family Affair. I was granted that wish. A few years later, during a move from Florida to Arkansas, Mrs. Beasley disappeared, never to return......until now. I've often lamented losing my precious friend. My mom has felt terrible for years for giving her away. But this Christmas, my hubby found a vintage 1967 Mrs. Beasley doll, in perfect condition and working order. I received her as my Christmas gift from him. I wanted to share a picture of Mrs. Beasley and me at Christmas in 1967. I'll soon add one of Mrs. Beasley and Me in 2007, exactly 40 years later.

We have snow!!

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:18:00 -0600

We were supposed to start our snow unit study last Monday, but it was 70 degrees outside. Katy and the Big Snow would have to wait. Instead we did some 3Rs and then spent the rest of the day with some friends at the park. The boys rode scooters and skateboards, shot some hoops, played with light sabers, and had a grand time. The unseasonably warm weather continued most of the week. We had a great time, but deep down were wishing we had some snow!

Well this morning, we woke up to a light dusting, maybe an inch, of snow on the ground! Ben was so excited. He got dressed right away and went out to play. When he came in, I had a fire going and some hot chocolate to warm him up. After he warmed up and we had breakfast, we sat down with Katy and the Big Snow, our Five in a Row (FIAR) book for this week.

We managed to do a couple of FIAR lessons and some 3Rs in between Ben running back out to play in the snow. He even built a model Geoppolis (the make-believe city in Katy) with his Legos. He also memorized the first stanza of Robert Frost's poem, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.

All in all it's been a great day. One of those "I'm so glad we use FIAR" kind of days. The snow was definitely icing on the cake! And more is expected later in the week. I can't tell you how excited Ben is about that!

Lunar Eclipse

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:02:01 -0600

Ben set up his telescope on the front porch to watch the lunar eclipse tonight. We had a very clear, cloudless sky but it was pretty chilly out. He came in and out several times to warm up (I just looked out the front window of my nice and warm living room). At one point I hear this strumming sound and look outside to find Ben sitting on the front porch looking up at the moon, strumming his dulcimer.

I have no idea what on earth (or the moon!) made him think that strumming a dulcimer went along with watching a lunar eclipse, but is was priceless.

He came in after, got out his sketch pad and proceeded to sketch what the moon looked like at different times during the eclipse, and then drew the sun, earth and moon in perfect alignment.

I asked him when I tucked him into bed tonight what made him get out the dulcimer.

He said, "I was just happy."

I love homeschooling :)

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Tue, 5 Aug 2008 14:07:00 -0500

Sir Galahad Academy

Today was the first day of 2nd grade!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:40:00 -0500

I guess technically we started yesterday. We always begin our first day by looking through our curriculum (this year we have lots of new stuff!) and then going to brunch at Waffle House. This year was no exception. So yesterday that's what we did. I got out all of the main books we will be using (which I'll list here in a minute), had brunch at Waffle House, and then met some friends for an afternoon of bowling.

There is a local bowling alley that has $1 day on Mondays during the summer. This was Ben's first time to bowl and he did quite well, scoring an 80 his first game! I hadn't bowled in many years, probably 15, and scored a 148, so I was pretty proud of both of us.

Then today, we had our actual first day of school. We are beginning slowly. I won't begin a few things for a couple of weeks. Things like vocabulary, spelling, and Spanish. For the first few weeks, I think we need to concentrate on handwriting (that's never been a favorite), math, and of course, getting used to our new curriculum.

All in all, today went quite well. I think Ben was happy to get back to a bit of structure in our day and he very much enjoyed our first day.

Now for a quick rundown on what we'll be using this year.

We have switched to My Father's World. The program we are using is called Exploring Countries and Cultures. For MFW, this is the first year of their 5-year history cycle. They begin with a year of geography, really getting to know the continents and countries on them, before beginning the in-depth study of all the history. ECC includes, of course, geography and also science in the form of learning the habitats of different countries. There is a strong foundation in the Bible, particularly the book of Matthew, as well as missionary stories, and art and music around the world. I think we'll have a wonderful year learning about our world and it's cultures.

The countries we'll be studying in depth are:

North America: USA, Mexico, Canada

South America: Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador/Galapagos Islands

Europe: Norway, Germany, France

Africa: Kenya

Asia: China, India, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia

Australia and Antarctica

For language arts, we will be using some different items as well. For English, it's Language Lessons for the Very Young and Lessons in Manners for Copywork by Queen Homeschool. We'll add in Worldy Wise 3000, book 2, Sequential Spelling, and Getty Dubay Italic Handwriting to round things out. For math, we are switching to Singapore math, and also using Calculadders for drill and Right Start's Math Card Games.

We'll also be adding in Spanish this year with The Easy Spanish, Jr. and The Fun Spanish. If you are looking for a Charlotte Masonish way to do foreign langauge, you'll want to check out both of these.

Of course, I can never just do a curriculum exactly as it is designed, so I'm adding in a few things to go along with our world culture studies. The main thing we'll be adding is study of the Animal Kingdom. I've ordered the God's Design for Life: The Animal Kingdom book from Answers in Genesis. Since we'll be looking at habitats it seemed natural to focus some on animal classification and maybe even some units on specific animals. Homeschool Share has several wonderful units on animals, so Ben and I looked through those and chose 2-3 animals (or classes of animals) to study for each continent. We create a lapbook/notebook for our animal studies as well. The animals we've chosen are:

North America: desert animals, ants, salmon

South America: butterflies, dragonflies, sea turtles

Europe: birds of prey, pigs, frogs

Africa: zebras, meerkats

Asia: pandas, camels, tigers

Australia: marsupials, coral reef

Antarctica: polar animals

Ben will also be attending an enrichment program once a week, taking 4 classes: General Music, Choir/Drama, Science: Rocks and Minerals, and Art. We are also planning to get together with another family or 2 once a week to work through Exploring Creation with Astronomy. Add in scouting, fall soccer, spring basketball, and swimming lessons and we're going to have another full and fun-filled year!

End of Year Wrap-Up

Thu, 29 May 2008 16:28:00 -0500

Whew...it's our last week of school and things are wrapping up! It's been a great year. We've accomplished much, though maybe not everything I intended.

History has been strong on our list of great accomplishments. I'd dare say my 7-year-old is better versed in Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims, The Revolutionary War, Slavery, The Underground Railroad and the Civil War than I was when I graduated from high school! Add a little sprinkling of WWII and it's been an amazing time. He simply loves this stuff. And we have been so blessed to have been able to learn so much of this, not only from books, but through vacations, work trips for my husband, and field trips.

To enhance our learning of American History, we have visited the KY Historical Society, Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace, and 2 pioneer villages (visiting a Native American museum at one of these), spent the day at a stop on the Underground Railroad in Ripley, OH, toured the USS Alabama and the Patton Museum, and spent a week in Washington DC where we saw most of the war memorials, the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetary, and stood in the presence of the Declaration of Independence. And of course there were amazing airplanes in the Air and Space museum, including the spirit of St. Louis and the Wright Brothers flyer! Not to mention the Lincoln Memorial, White House, US Capitol, and the Museum of Natural History. The Museum of American History was closed for rennovations, but we were able to see a display of their top relics in a special exhibit at the Air and Space Museum. What amazing things my little boy has been exposed to in one year!

Five in a Row and www.homeschoolshare.com have guided us through some of our history studies (The Glorious Flight, Paul Revere's Ride, Follow the Drinking Gourd, The Tale of Johnny Appleseed, The Ballot Box), along with fun learning about animals (The Bee Tree, Truman's Aunt Farm, The Salamander Room, Dinosaurs). And who could forget our time spent with machines (more Glorious Flight, Katy and the Big Snow, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge)?!?

We have also greatly enjoyed our time spent on Christmas and Easter and the true meaning of these holidays. The books, Bible stories, crafts, all of it were so much fun and really grew us both closer to God.

The last few months have been spent delving deeper into our Bible and character studies. If you're ever looking for some fun stories and activities in that area, Focus on the Family has a wonderful, free (making it even more wonderful!) curriculum called Character Crew. We have focused on different character traits each week. I've seen much growth in Ben this past couple of months and am so enjoying watching him change, grow, and mature as a little child of God.

The 3Rs have gone well too. We made some changes in his math curriculum and next year will continue using Singapore math. His handwriting has greatly improved and he is beginning to learn cursive. He recently began corresponding with a penpal (also named Ben) in Louisiana, so that should help continue the improvements with his handwriting.

His reading level has continued to grow. But more importantly his love of reading for pleasure is really starting to blossom. It's nothing these days to catch him on the bed reading a Magic Tree House or Time Warp Trio (more history!) book. Of course there are times when he's reading Captain Underpants as well. I can usually tell when he's reading on of those, because he laughs out loud at those! (what is it with boys and potty humor?). As a reader myself, it really does my heart good to watch and listen to him reading for the pure enjoyment of it!

He is also continuing in TaeKwonDo. He loves going to classes. Practicing? Not so much. But I'm glad he enjoys it and we'll continue going until he doesn't enjoy it any more. I don't see him hanging in there to get a black belt, but he is learning all the same and really does have fun with it. He will continue through the summer and will soon be testing for his next belt....orange!

He also just finished his first year as a Cub Scout. He has loved every minute of this group and is looking forward to a week of daycamp this summer along with a weekend overnighter with his dad! We'll definitely be continuing with Cub Scouts into the 2nd grade.

We've been on some great field trips, in addition to the ones I've already mentioned. Our favorite was the Creasy Mahan Nature Preserve where we dug for fossils, planted a flower, and caught bugs in our nets, all the while learning so much about rocks, plants and insects. We also loved our time spent at The Speed Art Museum, Bowman Field, The Derby Museum, Louisville Science Center, Salato Wildlife Center, Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory, Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and Muncie Children's Museum as well. Oh, and the "Storm Watcher" weather class held at the Louisville Zoo was a huge hit!

For a little culture, we have been to several children's theatre productions, including: The Little Mermaid, Charlotte's Web, Treasure Island, and If you Give a Pig a Party. We are very blessed to live in such a culturally rich, homeschool-friendly city. Just walk out your door (or log onto your computer) and the opportunities abound.

One of our favorite activities has been a bi-weekly playgroup. There are about 12 families total in the group, and we meet at fun local spots or parks. It's been great getting to know these moms and children better. It's just an awesome group of friends, both for Ben and for me.

So here we are, the last week of first grade. It is simply unbelievable that my little boy is going to be a 2nd grader. He is so excited just at the mention of it. We will do something special as a family next week, Nana too. We're looking forward to a great summer (well 6 weeks of summer anyway!) off and time spent at Cub Scout camp, Soccer camp, and VBS.

I'm already planning for next year, so stay tuned. I'll be posting soon what curriculum we'll be using (or at least that I plan to use--we all know how that goes).

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:14:00 -0500

The HSB Front Porch is having a contest and you can win a $50 gift certificate just for blogging about The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Spring Promo before midnight April 30, 2008. Subscribe now to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and receive 25 BONUS gifts valued at over $550! The Winter Promo sold out, don't miss out on the free gifts this time!

They are also giving away a $150 gift certificate to the Schoolhouse Store. All print subscribers (new or renewing) between April 3 - 30, 2008 will be automatically entered into a drawing. No purchase neccessary to win. To enter without subscribing, please send a postcard with your name, address, telephone number, and email address to:
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Spring Promo Contest
PO BOX 8426
Gray, TN 37615

Getting Ready for Easter....

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:18:00 -0500

It just dawned on me that Easter is less than 2 weeks away and I had not even begun to make plans for Easter week! So I sat down tonight and looked around at a few websites and came up with a tentative plan for our Easter Study. Using a combination of ideas from DLTK Bible and an article from Christianity Today, I think I've managed to put together a fun unit, with the focus on the true meaning of Easter.

Each day will begin with a Bible reading, followed by a book, and then a craft or other activity. I found with my Advent study, that less is definitely more! Our study will begin on Palm Sunday (March 16) and end, of course, on Resurrection Sunday (Easter, March 23). We'll also be putting together the Easter lapbook from Hands of a Child.

Palm Sunday

Bible: Mark 11:1-11

Book: The Colt and the King

Craft/Activity: Palm frond collage

Monday: Jesus Clears the Temple

Bible: Mark 11:12-19

Video: The Easter Story Keepers (dvd)

Craft/Activity: plants seeds in egg cartons

Tuesday: The Most Important Commandment

Bible: Mark 12:28-31

Book: The Parable of the Lily

Craft/Activity: make a handprint lily bouquet, deliver real Easter Lilies to neighbors

Wednesday: Jesus Visits Martha and Mary

Bible: Mark 14:1-10

Book: Lilies, Rabbits, and Painted Eggs: The Story of the Easter Symbols

Craft/Activity: make bath salts

Thursday: The Last Supper

Bible: Mark 14:12-47

Book: The Very First Easter

Craft/Activity: baked unleavened bread, deliver bath salts to neighbors, wash each other's feet

Friday: The Crucifixion

Bible: Mark 14:48-72, 15:1-40

Book: The Easter Story

Craft/Activity: stained-glass cross

Saturday: Jesus is the Light

Bible: Isaiah 9:2, Matthew 4:16, Isaiah 60, Matthew5:14, 5:16, John 8:12, 12:46, Matthew 5:14, John 8:12

Book: Easter Around the World, The Egg Tree

Craft/Activity: dye Easter eggs

Sunday: He Is Risen!

Bible: Mark 16:1-19

Book: Benjamin's Box

Craft/Activity: Resurrection biscuits, Resurrection eggs, Easter basket

The Homeschool eStore is now CurrClick!

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:20:00 -0500

The Grand Opening of CurrClick, formerly the Homeschool eStore begins today.

If you haven't discovered this wonderful resource for homeschoolers, go take a look. This company is just full of downloadable products at discount prices. Everything from Amanda Bennett unit studies, to Hands of a Child and Knowledge Box Central lapbooks, to Evan Moor books, all in ebook format, immediately downloadable!

And every Monday they offer one of these wonderful resources for free. I have collected quite a few lapbooks and ebooks over the past 2 years, just with these freebies!

If you'd like to take a peak, just click on the banner at the top of the page. Then bookmark Currclick, because you'll be going back for more!

Storm damage and counting blessings......

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:17:00 -0600

With the fierce winds that barreled through KY last night came lots of damage. In Louisville, there was one area particularly hard hit. It happens to be the area of town where we used to live and still own a house.

I drove by this morning to see if there was any damage to our house there.

First of all, let me say there was no damage to our house or the house next door. The tree that fell was an oak, about 100 years old. It was in the front of the neighbors house to the right. Had this tree fallen a different direction, it would have crashed into the neighbors house, possibly hurting or killing a wonderful 80 year old widow. Instead it fell across our driveway and front yard, and only damaged a Bradford Pear tree that was in front of our house. Blessing number one.

While I was there for about an hour this morning, several tree companies stopped by to offer their tree removal services for anywhere from $500-1000. But about an hour after I left, the city came by and removed it completely for free. According to my neighbor, it was completely cleaned up by 3pm. Blessing number 2.

We now live about 10 miles east of this home, in the direction the winds were coming through. It sounded like my house was being torn apart for about 4 hours. It seriously was eerie. I was home alone, which made me even more frightened. I went out this morning to look around, and not a bit of damage, not even an overturned garbage can. Blessing number 3.

Ben is scared to pieces of storms, especially those with high winds that sound like tornadoes. But he had spent the night with my mom last night. She lives south of where most of the damage was done and said they didn't get more than a few minutes of rain and gusty wind. Ben was not afraid there. Blessing number 4.

Shall I go on? I probably could. But I'll stop now and just share some pictures.