Nov. 13, 2009 - Wheel on the School

Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong is one of those books in the Total Language Plus program that we just have never gotten to; there are so many good choices!  We had a little gap in our read aloud schedule so we decided to squeeze it in!

What a delightful and unusual book!  Barbara Blakey, author of our Total Language Plus study guides, has always said it was well written and I must agree.  I was especially impressed with the way the author ties in individual events into one larger event.

Shora is the town that has no Storks on their roofs which is the catalyst for all the action in The Wheel on the School.  At the school, the children and teacher begin discussing this problem and why it exists.  From there thy take action and decide to find a wheel for their school.

In their search they encounter people and experiences they normally would not have.  It’s quite humorous at times and also makes you pause and think of similar people that you have maybe misjudged or need to get to know.  We laughed and I even caught myself with a tear in my eye when Janus tells his story about the boat but I won’t spoil it for you, you’ll just have to read it!

The Total Language Plus study guide has suggestions for projects on writing assignments on things like Storks, reports on being handicapped (Janus one of the main characters is in a wheelchair), mapping of Holland, Africa, fishing and so much more!  My daughter Lexie has decided she definitely wants to do this one!  She’s not quite ready yet, she’s on Whipping Boy right now, maybe next year. (It's suggested for 5th or 6th grade.)

Here’s a map we found online of the Netherlands (Holland) with cities and seas filled in, http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.m%2Dw.com/cgi%2Dbin/nytmaps.pl%3Fnetherlands and here’s an outline one http://geography.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.m%2Dw.com/cgi%2Dbin/nytmaps.pl%3Fnetherlands .  We could not locate Shora but you can locate Amsterdam where Janus talks about the man writing the newspaper column and you can of course locate the North Sea.

In the book they talk about sleeping in “cupboard” or “closet” beds.  I found articles from people who had toured and viewed them but no pictures.  We did find these replicas based off illustrations, http://www.remodelista.com/posts/childrens-rooms-bed-cupboard .  I thought they were really cute though they in reality I doubt were that “cute” in favor of more functional. 

We also thought there would be a lot of pictures and information on dikes.  I didn’t find a “really” good site though you can search and see vacation pictures of dikes.

Jul. 20, 2009 - Bertie's War

Wow!  I was so impressed with this new book by Barbara Tift Blakey!  It’s a book for children set at the time of the Cuban Missle crisis in the state of Washington.  Right away it starts  with action and holds your attention making you want to read the next chapter.  One of the big things I loved about this book was the strong vocabulary like chifforobe and clambered; few things disappoint me more than a book for children that doesn’t contain rich vocabulary.   Bertie’s War delivers on rich word content, great descriptive writing and more.

The most impressive thing for me however, was the lesson it teaches.  I was reading along thinking this is a pretty good book and then I got to chapter 31, “In the Woodshed”, and wow, this chapter for me turned it into a Great book that I want to use with my kids.  Before I get to that though, let’s get a better idea of what Bertie’s War is about.

Bertie is a girl who is imaginative and faced with the dilemma of if she should act grown up or play and be a kid.  She’s also afraid of a lot of things and most defiantly afraid of doing anything wrong that will land her in trouble.  Besides that she fears what’s going on in the world with people building bomb shelters and getting ready for communist missiles.  Her brother and sister add some interesting family dynamics that many will probably relate to.

In Chapter 31 she learns a lesson that is tough to get and that many adults today would do well to learn.  I won’t tell you what happens because that would spoil it but I will tell you that she figures out some things about God’s love, fear, expectations and selfishness. 

Another great bonus about the book is that the author has made available discussion questions and Cuban missile information/timeline on her website so be sure to add those in when you read it with your kids.

If the authors’ name, Barbara Blakey, sounds familiar to you it may be.  She’s the author of all the Total Language Plus study guides.  Because of this I must say I went into reading this book wanting to like it but also having very high expectations.  I can unreservedly say it met every expectation I had.  Total Language Plus has high criteria for the books it chooses to use for study guides and in my opinion Bertie’s War would be good company with them.

Bertie's War is available lots of places but it's also available right at the Total Language Plus website which is really convenient for those of us already using and ordering curriculum!

Jun. 28, 2009 - Good to be home

We’re back from CHEO convention in Columbus and while we had a great time it’s always nice to be home!  CHEO added something I think a lot of attendee’s and vendors appreciated this year, an Internet area.  Our booth for Total Language Plus was right across from it and I know it got a lot of use.  It was great to just be able to pop over and check your emails without having to get your laptop out, wait for it to load etc… (Though you could do that as well since there was wireless available.)

Welcome to anyone from CHEO or any of the last few conventions we’ve done just checking out the blog for the first time.  Feel free to check out all the categories at right but especially of interest may be the TLP/Literature one.  Typically I post a lot of ideas and extras we used with our Total Language Plus studies after we’ve done them.  I get busy and don’t get all of them on there but hopefully you can use some of the links and ideas in your own homeschool.

Don’t forget as well if you purchased the new novel, Bertie’s War, to go Total Language Plus site for free discussion question, Cuban missile crisis information and timeline.

May. 15, 2009 - From the Mixed Up Files focus guide

This year we kind of threw in a quick unplanned study with From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.   It hadn't dawned on me that this could easily go with our study of the Renaissance until one of my blogging friends mentioned it. The Total Language Plus focus guide is designed to be a multi-age three week study on letter writing with so we sort of snuck it in!  I know those of you who have seen my planner can’t believe this but it’s really true!

I’m so glad we did because the kids just loved it!  It’s a very fun and humorous story that is actually a letter.  While reading the “letter” you learn all the parts of a friendly and business letter as well as go over comprehension and thinking questions from the novel.

The story itself is very amusing!  Though my oldest daughter will probably not admit it she at times related quite a bit to the heroine, Claudia and all my kids cracked up over her side kick brothers’ favorite line, “Baloney!”  The two set off on an adventure, carefully planned by Claudia, to live in a museum and end up finding a mystery to solve.  That’s where the Renaissance comes in, the mystery revolves around a piece of sculpture thought to possibly be a Michelangelo.

There are many funny parts and several things that modern kids may find amusing.  One of the interesting things to my kids was the use of type writers as well as the inexpensive prices they pay for food (like 50 cents for cheese sandwich and coffee, probably can’t even find coffee for that anymore.)  It was written in the 70’s so it could be an interesting study of that time period as well.

Doing the Total Language Plus study guide along with it helps you get so much more from the book and honestly with this one they were sad to see it end!  Each day we read the questions that went with the chapters to gain further insight.  Some were simple things about what happened but many are about the why’s and what would you do’s that always lead to interesting discussions.  That’s what I love about TLP, is how it helps you really “see” how your kids think (for good and bad!)

In the book there are letters within the “letter” that are used as correction exercises and well as opportunities to write your own letters.  It even goes over how to address the envelope.

My kids were with me at our first big convention this year and we sold out of this one because they talked to everyone and told them how much they liked it.

If you’ve never tried TLP this would be a great little “taste” to get you started.  I would say it’s best suited for 4^th-6^th but could stretch in either direction a little.  I did it with a 3^rd, 5^th and 8^th grader.  They all liked it.

Apr. 28, 2009 - Grammar, UGH!

Grammar is one of those subjects that is usually met with negative responses.  It seems for many children and adults alike to illicit bad memories.  The thing about grammar is that it’s supposed to support written (and verbal) communication.  What does that mean?  Well, it’s supposed to help you speak and write correctly.

Problem #1

Grammar is not static.  Did you know that?  For instance most of us where probably taught in school to never end a sentence with a preposition.  Right or Wrong?  Well, most sources now advise it’s okay (although, I still avoid it if possible out of habit!)  Check this site out for more.  There are not solid guidelines, “expert” sources disagree a lot!

Problem #2

Grammar as a subject does not translate to your own communication.  Instead of supporting our writing, grammar has become a subject unto it’s own without purpose for many.  Let me ask you when is the last time you’ve diagramed a sentence to help you write?  Now, I did enjoy diagramming in school (weird, I know) and my mom says she uses it to help figure out difficult Bible verses but beyond that it doesn’t seem to have much use for the average person.

Now don’t get me wrong, the basics are important; noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition and interjection (basics as defined by Elements of Style.)  But, beyond that we are only learning grammar to learn grammar, not support our writing which is fine if that’s your objective.

Solution:

Learn the basics of grammar and use them in your own writing, copywork and dictations.  By all means correct your own writing.  This means mom, have your children correct their work and find their own errors.  When children forget basic grammar (and punctuation) hand them a handbook to look it up.

Handbook?  Yes, not a whole curriculum. 

Often we moms(generally speaking) are so worried we’re not giving our kids what they need or that they might be missing something that we go overboard?  Ever done that?

The 5^th grader who comes to an exercise that says, “circle all the adjectives,” and can’t recall what an adjective is doesn’t really need a whole new set of worksheets, he simply needs a reminder (he already learned this in 3^rd or 4^th grade.) 

What is a handbook?  Well there’re two sources I have on my shelf, Elements of Style and Practical Stylist.    These are not necessarily the best just the two I happen to have.  You can google grammar/writing handbook and get many suggestions (and prices.)  In my opinion more (cost) here doesn’t always mean better.  Every guide I’ve ever looked at basically has the same information.  Some do have more color pictures and are more “glossy” but just about any guide will do.  Most guides have grammar, punctuation and writing information.

So I pray this brings hope to some of you and your children.  Take some stress (and lots of worksheets) out of your life and go back to using grammar the way it was intended; to support your speaking and writing not add another complete academic subject!

Apr. 1, 2009 - Trumpeter of Krakow

The story has a very interesting history behind the plot which is covered in the prologue.  It seems there truly was a broken trumpet call the story retells and it plays a big part of the story.  I found it interesting how the author used this history to create his story.  It sounds like a writing assignment, oh, but that would be a different blog, back to the subject…

It makes sense for history but why was this book suggested as a reader for our Chemistry curriculum?  Well the answer lies in one of the lesser characters.  Our hero befriends a girl and her father is an Alchemist.  They live upstairs from his family.  It’s a great starting point for study in how Chemistry was actually begun.  In medieval times Alchemists were searching for how to make gold with lots of experiments.  Just like in any field I suppose there are good and bad characters and we do incur a bad character here. 

The father of the girl, Kruetz has a student who in fact does not have pure motives and seeks to control him.  He tries to put him under hypnosis.  This is not at all portrayed as a positive thing and gives a great chance for you to discuss it with your children.  It is really not the main part of the story but I encourage you to read it for yourself if this concerns you.

Trumpeter of Krakow leads to study of some of the maybe not quite as obvious things about the middle ages.  For instance in my review on Adam of the Road I noted that it was a good starting point for studying all the typical “occupations” of the medieval time like knight, squire, peasant, church positions etc…  With Trumpeter of Krakow you can study some “different” things about the time like Alchemy, Architecture, Cossaks, Copernicus and Dante to name a few. 

Ideas to go with these subjects are all suggested in the Pen and Paper sections or Projects sections of the Total Language Plus guide.  We chose to do the maps, study architecture and report on the Cossaks.  Below are some of the links we used to find our information.

Have fun with it!

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/printpage/europemain.htm map of Europe

http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxpoland.htm outline map of Poland

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/lgcolor/plcolor.htm Poland map, shows all but Kiev

http://www.mapsofworld.com/ukraine/ukraine-outline-map.html outline map of Ukraine

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/ukraine/ map of Ukraine showing Kiev

Just a word of caution searching Ukraine, there are many that come up with women as brides when you search Ukraine.  What I saw were just offers to write to men and modest pictures but there could be some other sites with more offensive materials.

http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/ma/romanesque_architecture.htm Romanesque architecture lesson and pictures

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/architecture/gothic.htm short description of gothic architecture with pictures

http://www.athenapub.com/14gothic-architecture.htm more in depth of gothic with diagrams

http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/g/renaissance.htm renaissance architecture small overview

http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/Historic-Styles/Renaissance.htm more on renaissance with links to famous buildings in the style

Cossacks history as well as today http://www.cossacks.kiev.ua/

Copernicus information http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Copernicus.html

Dante-http://www.archive.org/details/divine_comedy_librivox complete audio of Comedy in sections!  Excellent!

Petrarch http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/petrarch.html

Mar. 2, 2009 - Homeschool conventions

Wow, convention season is here at least for me!  I hope that all of you will consider going to a convention this year!  By the way, if you didn't get the winter issue of Old Schoolhouse it was loaded with great convention information!

  My top 10 reasons to attend convention

1. I want to be a better homeschool mom.

2. I’m burnt out and need refreshing.

3. I’m having a good year and could encourage someone.

4. What we’re using is okay (or maybe horrible!) but I want something that might “fit” my kids better.

5.  I love what I’m using for every subject but want to keep a look out for future years and friends.

6. I love bargins!

7. My husband and I need time away.

8. My husband and I need to constantly be reminded of the “bigger” vision of homeschooling.

9. It’s awesome to be with and see so many like minded “friends”!

10. I want to support the conventions so we can continue to have awesome events like this year after year!  There’s no place like a homeschool convention!

This year I'll be at conventions listed below representing Total Language Plus.  Stop by and say "hi", be sure to tell me your a blog reader!

Indiana
Date	City	Sponsor
March 13-14 2009	Mishawaka	SBRHC
April 3-4 2009	Indianapolis	IAHE
May 15-16 2009	Ft. Wayne	FWAHS
Michigan
Date	City	Sponsor
Mar 21 2009	Farmington Hills	HomeSchooling Works
May 15-16 2009	Lansing	INCH
Ohio
Date	City	Sponsor
April 16-18 2009	Cincinnati	CHCS
June 25-27 2009	Columbus	CHEO

 Hope to see you there!

Gina

Feb. 19, 2009 - Adam of the Road

Adam of the Road is a great story to use as a read aloud to go with any study of the medieval time period.  The story touches on many occupations of the times such as minstrels, falconers, squires, knights, abbots, priors, pilgrims and many more which give a great place to jump off into a study or reinforce what you are already learning in your history studies.  It’s also touching, compelling and relational.  We did it as a read aloud for the whole family.

My daughter age 10 completed the Adam of the Road study guide with Total Language Plus to go with our reading while the other kids worked on different guides.  When I asked her what she wanted me to say about it she said, “It was hard”.   Part of the reason I think she thought this is that I chose for her to do this as a bit of a challenge.  Previous to this one she did The Cricket in Times Square with Total Language Plus which is a bit easier.  Total Language Plus recommends The Cricket in Times Square for 4^th or 5^th graders while Adam of the Road is recommended for 5^th-8^th. 

Even though I know it wasn’t one of her favorites she did learn a lot and might admit on a good day (she’s my Eyeore sometimes) that she enjoyed some of the projects.   Thought maybe I’d post a few examples of some of the work she did.  She chose to do project #7 which was about making a coat of arms for her family.

She also did a report on Falconry from the Pen and Paper section as well as a newspaper advertisement for a lost dog.  She found a lot of information on line easily for her Falconry report.

In the projects she also translated a sentence from English to Latin using a Latin/English dictionary.  She tried, “Cast your cares upon Him because he cares for you,” which is her favorite verse.  I’m sure she didn’t translate it correctly (all those case endings) but that wasn’t the point.  She had fun doing it and trying to sound out the Latin words.  From Chapter 20 she wanted to do the ice skating project but the weather didn’t cooperate for us.

Along with The Trumpeter of Krakow (that's another whole blog!) which the boys were doing it was a nice fit with our medieval study.

Jan. 23, 2009 - Giving Grades

  This can be such a difficult issue for us homeschool moms!  Do we, don't we and if we do, how?  This is especially true when it comes to language arts which can be very subjective.

Barbara Blakey, author of the Total Language Plus study guides, has just started a blog series on grading I encourage you to follow.   She has graduated several students successfully and is a wealth of information.

Personally, I don't use grades all that much.  Now that I have a highschooler I do keep track of a few for transcript purposes.  For the present I correct only his tests and then I simply write the score next to the chapter in the table of contents.  At the end of the year I will transfer it to his transcript form.  I find this easier to do all at once.  Some subjects like Apologia Chemistry recommend giving credit for lab notebooks as part of the final grade.  This for us will be a credit or no-credit situation.  I don't want to have to correct his daily work and I also concur with Barbara in her blog mentioned above that the daily work is part of the learning process and I don't want to grade that, I want to encourage "learning".

Why are grades and tests given anyway?  Well, if you think of the typical classroom it's a way for the teacher of many students to assess how each one is mastering a subject.  That teacher isn’t always in tune with exactly where each student is, how could she be?  I hope that you as a parent/teacher can't say the same.

Think about how many times you look over their shoulder or discuss questions.  You know from their answers if they've got it or not.  In a classroom it's often hard for each student to get in on meaningful discussion.  Where have they been struggling and where do they need your help?  I bet you can answer that one in a heartbeat. 

If you're not giving grades you probably are already doing other things to measure their success.  Think about lapbooks, narrations, web pages, "newspapers", journals, not to mention reports and essays.  Do you have a co-op or academic fair? 

There is no better way to learn the subject then to become the teacher.  If you're ever taught  a Sunday school class or led a Bible study you realize that you learned more then any of the students. When your children do a lapbook each time they show a friend or relative they are presenting their material and reviewing at the same time.  When you participate in a science or history fair once again they get to "teach" others what they learned not to mention the interpersonal skills they develop.

Bottom line, don't stress you or your children out about "grades" but rather enjoy the process and pay attention to them so that you are comfortable and knowledgeable about what they are learning!  And if you do find you need grades especially as you get to high school try not to make it the "focus" of your school.  Have FUN learning.

Gina

Jan. 16, 2009 - New Total Language Plus catalogs (and a little ranting!)

Okay, you know the verse, Isaiah 40:31 "Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary" Well the Eagle wings make me think of those wings pins the airlines give you and obviously they must not have been thinking of this verse when they picked this symbol!  Flying to Seattle certainly has made me weary!  Okay, I guess the verse says walk and run, maybe I should have tried those options?

I must be getting old.  It used to be I looked forward to flying and I guess I still do a little.  After all, it gives me at a minimum 3 hours of kid free time where I can read a book or do whatever I want even if it’s only a ½ hour puddle jumper flight!  You know you have to be there a minimum of 1 hour or is it 2 now before your flight, then you sit on the runway for at least 15 minutes before actually taking off.  Oh, and let me back up a bit, you’re now leaving late because no one wants to check baggage since it now costs extra so they all bring “carry ones” bigger than the bag I checked which I KNOW was over the carry-on size and guess what ?  They won’t all fit on the plane so now they start checking luggage on the plane!  Hmm…I didn’t see anyone whip out credit cards so maybe this is a way to get around the checked baggage fee?  Just kidding…well, sort of!

So now after a “36” minute flight, small layover spent walking really fast through the airport, and another packed plane ride of 4 ½ (well more like 6 with the above mentioned delays) I made it to Seattle and I’m glad to be here so enough ranting!

We’re in Seattle for what we call “Rep Weekend”.  It’s where Total Language Plus fly’s all the state representatives out and we do training, networking, eat a lot and have fun!  Really we do get a lot of work done but we sure eat a lot of good food and have a lot of fun.  Barbara really spoils us!  It’s great to work for a company like that!

That brings me to my point and here’s where you come in.  I just saw our 2009 catalog last night and it was mailed on 12/29 to past customers so if you haven’t received it yet or you want one just to check us out let me know.    I would be happy to send it out.  If you live in a state other than MI, IN or OH still let me know and I’ll pass that along to your rep (or go to our site, Total Language Plus and contact your state rep yourself if you’d like) really, they are all great people so you’ll love your rep too I’m sure!  I do need your address to send you one so you may want to email me rather than leaving comment.  Send your request to reyncg1@aol.com .

I’ll leave you with a picture out my front window from yesterday morning; I believe it was 4 degrees.  I think it’s supposed to be in the 50’s today here and we’re eating lunch at a park, in January, can’t do that in Michigan!

Oct. 8, 2008 - A Cricket

Ariel is reading The Cricket in Times Square and doing the Total Language Plus guide with it this fall.  She found a cricket in the yard so we kept it for a day.

The fun of this was that we talked about a lot of the story and her vocabulary words because she was holding and observing an actual cricket.  It wasn’t planned it just happened.  I love it when school works out that way!  I did ask her if she wanted to build a pagoda for it, she declined.

This is Ariel’s first study guide from the 4^th and 5^th grade “category” (*see note below.)  I’ve been very pleased with her transition from the younger (3rd and 4th grade) guides.

Some of the differences:

1) Going from copy work to dictations

2) Grammar moving from being taught to reinforced

3) More and stronger Critical Thinking (called personal thinking questions)

4) More involved enrichments

5) Scripture relevance paragraphs

Here is her very first scripture relevance paragraph.

I think the verses have to do with The Cricket in Times Square because Chester was brave.  He was not very afraid.  He did not want for much.  He was guided safely across that period of time.  He over all was very brave and God protected him.

Okay, now she started way too many sentences with “he” and used I but she was asked to show how her dictations from Psalm 23 related to the story.  I think she did an excellent job for her very first time at this.  It took her a few minutes to get the idea as we discussed it but she got it done without any help from me.  We have also been working on restating the question which she did successfully.

Do we correct the mistakes?  Personally I think no, not this time.  It’s her first attempt and I want to praise her for completing the assignment correctly and independently.  We’ll work on those other things in future assignments once she’s more confident. 

With correction we have to sometimes remember they are learning and not everything needs to be completely corrected or even re-written.  I cringe to think everything I ever write would be critiqued and would need to be corrected and re-written.  Of course, some assignments need to be taken to that level and “polished” till they shine but they need practice too.  I want my kids to enjoy writing not hate it.

Gina

*Total Language Plus is not a grade level program however there are “suggested categories” in their brochures which breaks the guides into; 3^rd and 4^th, 5^th and 6^th, 6^th-8^th, 7^th-9^th etc…  In the “notes” section by each novel additional grades are given that would also be appropriate. Click on Total Language Plus in the links at right to see the website for more information.

For instance the last book my daughter did in the “3^rd + 4^th” section was Charlotte’s Web.  Ariel did it in 4^th grade but in the notes it’s suggested 3rd-5^th.  She’s doing Cricket now which is in the 5^th and 6^th grade section but the brochure suggests 4^th -5^th grade.

The bottom line, don’t get hung up on grade level.  There is a lot of flexibility in the guides especially once you get to the 4^th and 5^th grade section.  When we did The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (which is recommended 4^th-6^th) my oldest was 7^th.  There was still plenty to challenge him and we just chose the more advanced recommendations under the enrichments section.

Aug. 21, 2008 - Total Language Plus planning

As many of you who read this blog regularly know, I am a state representative for Total Language Plus.  We started using the curriculum and it made such a radical change in our homeschool that I looked into representing the company.  It is a great fit for our family! 

When I’m at conventions often the question of planning comes up so I thought I’d address it here for now and future reference.

One of the great things about Total Language Plus is that the planning is so easy.  It’s basically done for you, yet with a lot of flexibility.  Let me show you what I mean by taking you through my planning this year for my 10 year old daughter who will be doing The Cricket in Times Square study guide.

First, I start with the planning grid which is in the front of each study guide.  For Cricket there are six unit’s and 5 sections of daily work (A-E) for each unit so that makes 30 “daily” units of work.  Besides the daily work there are choices in the Enrichment Writing section, sometimes we do lots of these and sometimes just a few.  If we are planning on doing lots I may take 3 extra days per unit or if we are just doing a few I may only allot 1 extra day per unit. 

 I also take into consideration my other children if they are doing different studies.  Many times we multi-age and are on the same novel but if they are on different ones I look at how many units they have and may adjust one so that we all end together.  You wouldn’t have to do this but for us it just makes sense to try and start and end new ones around the same time, especially if the next one we will be doing together.  Taking those things into consideration we plan to start the week of 9/2 and end the week of 10/27 taking off the week of 10/20 for a project week. 

 So the first week on her planning grid I write 1 A-D, 1PTP.  That means she’s doing 4 days of “daily” work A-D and spending the 5^th day of the week writing her paragraph (PTP) from her personal thinking questions.  On the 5^th day she would also work on any enrichment/writing that we chose.  Some weeks she will have some and other weeks she won’t.  I also planned the week of 11/3 to have “off” so we’ll have time to finish project or “make-up” anything we missed.  I find it’s always good to have the cushion in there.

 Next we look at the overview which is on the next few pages.  This gives all the enrichment and writing choices for the entire study.  I go through with my highlighter and note the ones we’ll do.  Sometimes I decide these and sometimes I let the kids chose, it just depends.  Once I have them highlighted in the overview I simply transfer my highlighting to the page/unit that contains what we’ve chosen.  That way when my daughter gets there she knows what we decided to do.

 For Cricket I let my daughter chose some of the “easier” things since this will be her first book in the 4^th/5^th grade level.  She chose from the projects, #11 eat with Chinese food with chopsticks and #12 make up one sentence fortunes to put into cookies.  She chose to do one of the pictures, #3, draw and color a pagoda.  For the Pen and Paper exercises she chose #6, to write a news broadcast reporting on Chester’s concert.

 We always discuss the Personal Thinking questions as we go through the chapter the question relates to.  Each unit she will do one paragraph on a personal thinking question of her choice.  My older children are usually required to write two paragraphs per unit on two different questions.

There is no right or wrong way so keep that in mind as you’re planning.  This is just what I find easy and works for us.  Hope it gives you some ideas and helps your school to flow smoothly.

Gina

p.s. If this curriculum in new to you and you'd like to check it out further go to the link at right under links for Total Language Plus or go to categories at right and click on TLP and literature to see some of the other things we've done with TLP.  Oh, and if you want to order, I handle the states of MI, IN and OH.  When you go to the Total Language Plus site and put in your state you'll get me if your from those states.  if you're from one of the other states you'll get one of my good friends who will be happy to help you.  I meet them every January for training and networking and they are all great homeschool mom's that will give you great service too!

Jun. 30, 2008 - Welcome CHEO customers!

Welcome to all of you I got to talk to this weekend at CHEO in Ohio!  For this convention I brought two of my friends with me to help and we had a great time together AWAY from our families (you need that sometimes.)  Hope all of you had as much fun as I did (even though I paid $4.40 for gas on the way home which is more then I have EVER paid!)

Feel free to explore achieves and especially the link at the right for TLP/Literature.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Thanks,

Gina

Jun. 25, 2008 - The Giver

The Giver

Wow!  I couldn’t put this book down.  It was so interesting!  If you haven’t heard of it, The Giver by Lois Lowry is an excellent book that allows you to discuss some really pertinent issue’s with your 8^th/9^th grade level children.

The book itself is a good read.  I read it while traveling to Washington a couple years ago.  As I’d get off the plane to the seating area I couldn’t wait to open the book back up.  While reading I kept “seeing” little things that would seem weird and eventually the whole picture opens up and you see what’s going on.  It’s basically about a planned society that you find out near the end practices euthanasia (think Logan’s run if you’ve seen that, my son found comparisons) but it’s more than just that. 

It’s about the value of things like pain, differences, independent thought and speaking up.  What great things to talk about!

My oldest son did this book with the Total Language Plus study guide.  He was in 9^th grade this last year which I feel was perfect for this study.  Many of the questions were pertinent to things we’re currently discussing.  Like for instance one of the questions he had to answer was what he thought was best for marriage, either your spouse being chosen by yourself, your parents or a committee.  We’ve been talking about courtship around our house so it was perfect timing.  In the society of The Giver a committee makes the choice for you.

He chose to do a pen and paper regarding a career in which he’s interested.  Surprisingly to us he choice to write on writing as a profession, we hadn’t heard this one before!  Again, another timely question as we’re looking at planning his high school to his “bent” and possible career area’s. 

Another project he chose to do was on a chart on childhood development.  I think he found it interesting as he keeps telling us things he learned.  One of his favorite things to inform us of was that 8 year olds tend to eat a lot (presumably because it’s a big growing year) and so that’s why his 8 year old sister eats so much!  He found this site helpful in his research.

 So I hope you'll check out the Giver, it's definately worthwhile!

Gina

May. 6, 2008 - The Best Kept Secret in Homeschool!

I just got my copy of Old Schoolhouse in the mail yesterday and was delighted last night to find an impressive review of Total Language Plus.  The reviewer closed her interview by saying, “I think it is the best-kept homeschool secret out there!”  I couldn’t agree more!  That’s exactly how I felt when I found it!

You can read the full review here, just chose Total Language plus from the list.

I’ve been going over our lists of curriculum for next year including our choices from the Total Language Plus guides.  We are choosing to do Adam of the Road and Trumpeter of Krakow  due to our being in the medieval period in our history curriculum. Last weekend I got our science curriculum for next year, Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and in the back it recommends study of Alchemy.  It’s so funny how God works this out as I goggled Alchemy what should come up but Trumpeter of Krakow!  The main character encounters an Alchemist and his daughter.

This year we chose to do Carry On Mr. Bowditch as we were studying earth and space.  Mr. Bowditch sails by “lunars” and stars.  Amazingly enough he also studies Latin which we started this year too!  I certainly didn’t plan all this.  I try my best but God sure helps!

What else are we choosing?  Well,  I’m thinking Swiss Family Robinson, High King,  The Cricket in Times Square, The Courage of Sarah Noble and probably a few more but  it’s not final yet!  Of course those choices are for all my kids not just one. 

Apr. 23, 2008 - Welcome Indianapolis friends!

Just wanted to put a quick note on here to welcome some of our new customers from Indianapolis convention.  We had a great time!  You were all so encouraging to my boys!  It got long for them but they did a really good job.  I had forgotten my camera so I didn't take pictures of them working but I did take one of them with my camera phone eating at Cracker Barrel after we set up. If I can figure out how to get the pictures off the phone I'll post that one!

Our top seller by far was Rifles for Watie.  We did that one last year so I'm going to try and go back to our guides later this week (or this weekend) and blog with some of the things we did with that one, so if you're doing that one check back.

Gina

Apr. 11, 2008 - Norman the Doorman

We are having so much fun with my second graders Language Arts curriculum this year.  The last unit we did was on Norman the Doorman by Dan Freeman.  It’s been awhile since I showed a bit of what she’s done this year so I thought it was time again.  (See entry from the fall on Little Bear if you’re interested.)

If you are not familiar with Norman the Doorman, it is a very cute story about a mouse who is the “back” doorman for a museum.  He likes to create things from materials he finds around the museum.  One day he sees a sign for an art contest and enters it.  Okay, I won’t give more away , but it’s very cute with lots of possibilities for learning and exploring.

 In her regular work we did spelling and vocabulary words from the book as well as comprehension and thinking questions.  For the grammar with Norman we worked on compound words and titles.  In the phonics we worked with the silent letters in knight.  All the learning sections take their material from the story.  I just love doing school this way!

Each unit has some enrichment activities for her to chose.  Most of the time we take those things (and sometimes things from the regular daily work) and create a folder book.  She likes to draw a copy of the cover for the front of each folder that looks just like the front of the book she reads.  Inside we put booklets, pictures, charts or whatever we’ve done to go with that unit.

For Norman she chose to do some sculptures in wire just like Norman did.  I thought hers turned out well.  She of course titled her art, just like Norman did.  We had “The Green Lady”, “Ball in a Heart” and “The Green Tree”.  She just used some floral wire I had and put it in some clay.  We took pictures for her folderbook.

For the enrichment reading suggestions she chose to read two more of Dan Freeman’s books.  She read Earl the Squirrel, all by herself I might add, and she was so pleased that she now could!  I also read to her Manuelo the Playing Mantis.  Both stories were very cute.  She made her own books to retell the stories for her folderbook.

One of the other suggestions was a chart on responsibilities.  Norman you see takes his job as a doorman very seriously so we talked about what responsibilities she has.  She’s keeping a chart for the week to check off her things she is responsible to do.  If she puts forth her best effort like Norman she gets to put a star by that day.

Those of you that read my blog will know this but for anyone that doesn’t probably the reason I love the curriculum so much is that I wrote it!  That’s one way to get exactly what you want!  I am getting very excited about it too because it’s almost all written!  It’s been a lot of hard work but so worth it!  So I encourage YOU, go ahead write what works for you.

Gina

Mar. 30, 2008 - Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

We really enjoyed our study of this book.  At convention a couple weeks ago I had one mom say she didn’t enjoy it.  I asked why and she said that they kept feeling like what else bad was going to happen to him.  He does have a lot of bad things happen but I love the way he reacted to those things!  We don’t hear the whining, complaining and cry of “unfair” that is so typical of our day, to me that was refreshing!

What I also loved about the book was that anytime he wanted to learn something he started a notebook.  He didn’t wait for someone to teach him, he dug in himself and with lots of hard work accomplished what he set out to do!  What homeschool mom can’t appreciate that!

We did this one as a read aloud with Daddy so that alone makes it a special one for us.  We read in the evenings and often got ahead or behind but it was worth it to have Daddy reading to the kids.

For our study using the Total Language Plus study guide we chose to have the boys do reports on the life of Nathaniel Bowditch.  There’s not a lot of information out there but they each did about two page reports including a picture of Mr. Bowditch (which they thought looked funny!)  Here’s some links we used to help us research: http://www.salemweb.com/tales/bowditch.shtml http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/nathanielbowditch.html

 http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Bowditch.html

The other pen and paper assignment we  chose to focus on was #9 on investments.  My husband belongs to an investment club so this is an area he’s really into.  He formed a club with the kids and they are doing actual investing in the market so this will be an ongoing project for them.  Over the summer we also plan on reading, Whatever Happened to Penny Candy and using the study guide for that to further look into Economics. (see blog entry for more info.)

Part of the reason we chose to do Carry on Mr. Bowditch was that is was a recommended reader with our science this year.  Because of that we chose our projects to focus on the astronomy questions 13-16.  We were able to go to the Creation Museum this past fall and visit the planetarium, which I highly recommend.  With our science curriculum we are going through all the planets (#16).  I really love it when I can “cross” our curriculums and get more done with less time.  I think it really connects things for the kids too!

The mapping #11 on this one will take a little research with an almanac.  A good outline map of the world can be found here http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/world_phys.pdf .  We found it interesting to look at New England because we’re familiar with many of the places mentioned.  My husband is from Rhode Island and the Block Island (where Bowditch is blown to) ferry leaves from Galilee, Rhode Island where we buy lobster off the boats in the summer. Here’s one if you want to do the New England part, http://gonewengland.about.com/library/coloring/xnewenglandmap.htm .

If you care to try hardtack as suggested in project #5 look here for a recipe http://kenanderson.net/hardtack/recipes.html .  We did that one with Rifles for Watie and thought once was enough!  Hardtack is so yummy after all. (You know I'm kidding, right!?)

Well, I hope you will enjoy Carry On Mr. Bowditch as much as we did. 

Gina

Mar. 17, 2008 - Farmington Hills convention

Welcome to those of you who may have picked up my card at the convention.  My husband and I really enjoyed meeting and talking with many of you.  Farmington Hills convention is a pretty busy one day convention for us.  I apologize to those of you that stopped by toward the end of the afternoon as both our voices were fading!  We were truly blessed to be there and grateful for many of the positive comments, especially from those that tried us for the first time last year and were back for more!

For those of you who are my "blog" friends I thought I'd include a picture of my display.  After I took the picture I did adjust the table cloth on the right to cover the boxes a little better but I thought I'd put the picture in here anyway so you get an idea.

For my Total Language Plus customers feel free to look through the archives for ideas.  Most of the things related to the guides and novels from TLP are under the category on the right that is labeled TLP and literature (although you may find some in the general archives that I didn't categorize that way too.)  Come back often too, as I have several we've recently done that I haven't got a chance to add our links and such.  We might be doing the one you're planning for next year or maybe it will give you ideas for what you want to do in the future!

And as always leave me a comment and let me know what you think.  I love to hear from you!

Feb. 18, 2008 - Julie of the Wolves/Iditarod study

If you haven't read the current copy of Old Schoolhouse you should!  I was reminded of the Idiarod race with the article in there and since we just finished Carry On Mr. Bowditch it was a good time for a little "break" in our regular schedule.

I decided to do the Total Language Plus Julie of the Wolves with it as a multi-age read aloud along with a little study on the Iditarod.  The study guide for Julie of the Wolves has a lot of comprehension and critical thinking questions even compared to some of the other Total Language Plus guides on other books.  Also, it's short, only 5 units so that makes it fit my purposes as well.   

If you've "heard" about Julie of the Wolves you may wonder at my choice for a multi-age read aloud.  Let me explain a little.  I first of all encourage you to read it for yourself and form your own opinion.  There are two topics in the book that some people find a bit "controversial".  First Julie, the main character, is technically "married" at age 13.  I am choosing to minimize this and skip critical thinking on this issue with my younger kids (8 + 10).  I could go into it with my older two but probably won't.  My response to this would simply be that she's in a different culture.  We actually read that part today and it really didn't create any conversation at all.

The second thing that many find controversial is a situation that happens with her "husband".  They are not in any sense of the word married as you would probably define it.  Actually, they seem to have very little interaction at all.   He is frustrated with some teasing and well, let me quote the book:

"They're laughing at me.  That's what's wrong.  They say, 'ha, ha. Dumb Daniel.  He's got a wife and he can't mate her. Ha'"

He pulled her to her feet and pressed his lips against her mouth.  She pulled away.

"We don't have to," she cried.

"They're laughing',"he repeated, and tore her dress from her shoulder.  She clutched it and pulled away.  Daniel grew angry.  He tripped her and followed her to the floor.  His lips curled back and his tongue touched her mouth.  Crushing her with his body, he twisted her down onto the floor.  He was frightened as he."

He then leaves.  As adults we can read a lot more in and say there was more but in the book that's it.  An 8 year old may comment that he was mean, period.  Personally, I'm reading it and not making a big deal.  In our society today I think it certainly is an issue to discuss, and probably earlier than we think. 

With that said the book is wonderful.  It's a great nature study book with lots of animals of the tundra to study and discuss.  My daughter has been wanting to study the tundra and it fits nicely with that topic.

For some reason over the last few years I've seen information on the Iditarod and been drawn to a study of it but it just hasn't panned out.  I think the race and all that goes along with that will be appealing to my boys.  With the combination of Julie and the race I think we'll have an interesting study for all four kids!

Most of the time we use the Total Language Plus guides in their entirety but we are going to pick and chose a little with this one to make it fit our needs.  We're using all the comprehension and thinking questions, some of the writing suggestions and some of the vocabulary but skipping the dictations and spelling entirely.  I love that the program is flexible so you can do what you want with it!

We're also using some elements from the following things.

Draw Write Now Book Four

Sled Dog Lapbook from Hands of a Child

Basic Notebook Pages from Notebookpages.com

Templates for lapbooks from Hands of a Child

I like my children to create their own lapbook elements and pages so with the template book and the basic notebook pages they can print off the ones they want to create.  The sled dog lapbook was one that had been free awhile back so I had it "sitting" on my computer just waiting to be used and the notebook pages I had also got free awhile back and use those regularly.  I did order the Draw Write Now specifically for this study (my kids drawings could use some help!)

So here's our plan:

Iditarod/Alaska/Julie of the Wolves unit study

Day 1

Read Julie of the Wolves aloud p. 1-36, discus comprehension and thinking questions from TLP guide.

Research Lemmings-http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/rodent/Lemmingprintout.shtml

boys (age 12 +14)-1 page paper

girls (age 8+ 10)-lapbook element http://www.homeschoolshare.com/documents/minit%20book%20templates/animal_report.pdf

Draw Wolves- from Draw Write Now p. 42, research wolf behavior , http://www.ualberta.ca/~jzgurski/wcomm.html (behavior and audio of howls, growls etc…)

notebook page http://www.gardenandhearth.com/Homeschool-Worksheets/Science/Animal-Adventures/Animal-Adventures.htm  or http://www.gardenandhearth.com/Homeschool-Worksheets/Science/Animal-Adventures/Animal-Adventures2.htm

 Assign books for book reports-

Lexie (8)-Kiana’s Iditarod by Shelley Gill

Ariel(10)-Balto and the Great  Race by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Taylor(12)-Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott O’Dell

Logan(14)-Dogsong by Gary Paulsen

Do ½ hour of independent reading.

Day 2

Read Julie and discuss question in Total language plus guide for pages 37-70

Research Caribou http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/deer/Caribouprintout.shtml

make lapbook element, can use reindeer from Draw Write Now to draw you own

Make lapbook element or notebook page on Caribou

Print out and label Alaska map with places Julie lived or is at now.

maps-Alaska color filled in http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/lgcolor/akcolor.htm

 outline http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/outline/ak.htm

Vocabulary words (take from TLP guide) on board, discuss and copy into notebook

put vocabulary on lapbook element http://www.homeschoolshare.com/documents/minit%20book%20templates/vocabulary12flaps.pdf

boys-one Personally thinking question (TLP guide) from any of first two days questions

30 minutes of reading on independent books

Day 3

Read p 75-104 of Julie.  Discuss comprehension and thinking questions from TLP guide.

Draw and research seals. Make lapbook or notebook page.

Make a page (or lapbook element) about the state of Alaska  http://www.dced.state.ak.us/oed/student_info/student.html

Research Eskimos- Yupik and Inuit.  Boys-write a one page paper.  Girls do lap booklet on each.

Finish reading independent books today and tomorrow finish and make report.

Day 4

Read page 109-138 from Julie of the Wolves, discuss comprehension and thinking questions from TLP guide.

Read about Iditarod history-serum run, look at state map you made yesterday print Iditarod map print Iditarod map

http://iditarod.com/learn/iditarodtrail.html

 Make oral and written book reports or here.

Day 5

Read 139-170 from Julie of the Wolves.  Discuss reading and comprehension questions.

Research sleds- Do lapbook elements, draw sleds

Northern lights art project http://homeschoolinthewoods.com/UnitStudies/iditarod-alaska-L4-6.htm

Aurora story and facts http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/auroras/story.html

Make Aurora fact cards for lapbook or notebook page

Start researching dog-types of dogs used.  Make lapbook element or notebook page.

Day 6

Start read aloud Woodsong.

Chose mushers.

Research musher commands. Put on a Vocabulary flap for lapbook.

Make excel spreadsheet to follow chosen mushers. (Logan)

Day 7

Finish Woodsong

Start race journal.  Take on persona of musher or fictitious story of self running race and journal each day.  Do several days.  Day 1-At the start etc…

Research food and medical for dogs.

 Continue to follow race, chart the progress in excel and journal as interest warrants…..

The offical Iditarod has lots of information on the history of the race, mushers, dogs etc...

So there's our plan.  I'm sure I'll be posting some of the results in the future, especially from Ariel.  She plans to use much of it for her Science display for our Science fair on "Tundra Science."