Pinewood Castle

Continuing Ed

(from the 2nd volume of Homeschooling Cartoons)

 Do you ever daydream that your husband takes you to a hotel room filled not with flowers and chocolate, but with all of the homeschooling books that have been teetering on your nightstand for over a year? In my dream, he gives me the key, and kisses me goodbye for a week. Am I just a nerdy home schooling mom?

Conferences (like the one coming up) are wonderful for learning new things and perusing curricula and I almost always come away with more information that I can process in one or two days away from home. Invariably, I gather my courage to attend a lofty workshop on Classical Education and, overwhelmed, find myself wishing I could attend a talk on a simpler topic such as: Homeschooling for Dummies: How Exactly Do You Teach Phonics, Spelling, and Grammar or perhaps Signs You Should Ease Up on Your Child and Assign One Page of Math a Day Instead of Two and even better: Look No Further: Which Math and Phonics Programs Are Indisputably the Best.

Before I am bombarded with new ideas and new books at this year's conference I am hoping to get to a few resources I already have. A few titles I'd love to read for the first time (which of course I could be reading right now if I weren't sitting here blogging the day away):

Let's Read Latin

Cave Canem

Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Egypt

The new edition of Educating the Whole Hearted Child

The School of the Family: A Renaissance of Catholic Formation

The Hidden Art of Home Making

All of the Genevieve Foster books (even though they are not Catholic)

 

Here are some favorite titles I would love to re-read every year:

The Imperfect Homeschooler's Guide to Homeschooling

The Catholic Homeschool Companion

Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home

Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum

all the Sally Clarkson books

Some resources are ones I own but need to implement:

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready

Teach Me To Do It Myself

Mudpies to Magnets

Making an effort to read some of the living history books before or after my kids read them has been helpful. This year I read Florence Nightingale's Nuns, The Golden Goblet, Hittite Warrior, and Ship's Boy with Magellan. Some titles were helpful to me, but not appropriate for young children: With Pipe, Paddle and Song and Nefertiti.

You know another thing that's helpful that I often neglect to do? Read the prefaces and teacher's notes in the curriculum we currently use. Maybe if I didn't have adult-onset ADD with major flare-ups between the hours of 9 am and 9 pm this would be easier for me.

So, do you carve out time for your own inservice days or are you like me and try to read a book here and there before you crash at night?

Minnesota friends, if you see a good deal on Groupon for a week at the Grand View Lodge, call me and let's plan our own continuing ed days, ok?

 

 

 

Poetry Night

A reader asked about the story boards - I read about this idea in the Summer 2011 issue of TOS in an article titled "17 Creative Ways to Connect with Literature" by Melissa Culver. This is also online here in PDF format. {Yeah for the internet.}

The latest round of memorized poetry at our house includes The Children's Hour by Longfellow (3rd grade), Christopher Columbus (4th), and The Jabberwocky (6th). All are selections from The Harp and Laurel Wreath. I try (and usually remember) to make an evening out of reciting the poems for Dad on a Friday night. Sometimes we get busy and forget, in which case I just video at The Teacher's Desk.

Do you believe an eight year old boy can memorize a ten stanza poem? Sure they can - bit by bit, copying one line a day, one stanza a week. {Yeah for the power of copy work.}

 The next clip begs for a little preface.

Here's our Sunshine, entertaining the crowd atop her rock at age three on the occasion of her little brother's 2nd birthday.

This was our first inkling she God made her with a flair for the dramatic. Well, maybe not the first inkling - that came around the age of four months with her wide open smiles.

 

She has always been a ham. Anyway, enjoy her rendition. Her infectious enthusiasm only ripens as she ages.

 

And here is Carroll's famous nonsense poem, perfect poetic fare for a courageous and giggly 6th grader.

 

I just love that MODG incorporates poetry in the curriculum - on so many levels. Poetry infuses vocabulary, rhyme, alliteration, descriptive language, rhythm, meter, patterns, and proportion. By looking up the background of a poem a child also makes connections with culture, history, and geography.

Recitation fosters public speaking skills and confidence. Like music, poetry is a positive contribution even a child can offer to friends, family, or even to an audience of nursing home residents. I can't even begin to explain how we have found poetry memorization to go hand-in-hand with their Suzuki music education. I think Andrew Pudewa can explain this much better that I can do in one little blog post.

Most importantly, a poem (or scripture) memorized by heart is often kept in the heart. It's not like the math worksheets dropped daily into the recycling bin. Poems continue to work in their hearts and minds. They are easily retrieved when seeking comfort, entertainment, connection, or even distraction. Sharing poetry touches the hearts of others, as Sunshine learned when she recited The Village Blacksmith to a real life blacksmith at an art fair. I have never seen a big and burly man so touched (or shocked?) that a little nine year old girl knew that poem. 

 

Story Boards

Here's an idea I picked up from an old This Old Schoolhouse magazine.

My 3rd grader chose the Titanic -

4th grader did Narnia -

 

And my 6th grader did Island of the Blue Dolphins -

 

We'll keep trying to include a creative literature project each month as an alternitive to traditional book reports!

Saint Reports

Now that the older two girls have finished the IEW Writing program I am trying to remember to assign writing projects throughout the month. One week it might be an assignment from their IEW History book, another week some sort of creative "report" about a book they read on their own.

The last week of the month they write about a saint. I encourage the children to choose someone in whom they are genuinely interested, so the saint's feast day does not have to fall during the month. In 4th and 5th grades I do encourage those studying American history to choose a saint they have been reading about.

My 3rd grader wrote about St. Blaise after reading the little blue book: A Story of St. Blaise. He "forgot" to illustrate it, so I'll have to post a photo of his report later.

My 4th grader chose Fr. Marquette since she recently read Fr. Marquette and the Great Rivers.

I check their spelling, and add words to their personal spelling list (every fifth lesson in the Phonetic Zoo). I also check their cursive and usually have to assign some letters to practice (in this case, capital I, F, and J).

My 6th grader, who has blossomed into a daring girl, and shows interest in zoology and survival skills, chose St. Francis. I really liked the "before" outfit she drew for him.

 

Breaking from the Break

I didn't mean to take a blogging break for the rest of Lent, but I did.

I didn't intend to interrupt the blogging break once it began, but I am.

Why? Because life changes so very quickly. For the last four years, this blog is where I have gone to document my family's milestones.

My baby turns two this week. TWO! Here he is pictured disassembling his birthday ring. I let him do this until he starts throwing the figures on the floor, which is a sure sign he's ready for a nap.

My other baby (almost 12) had her first babysitting job! She managed four children (one of whom is 9 and was a great help) and their parents enjoyed a well deserved break.

Winter turned to spring. The snow is gone.

 

I have an uneasy feeling that it will snow at least one more time. This would be bad for the flowers and birds, but my children would love another snowball fight like this one they had in February.

 

 

We took a hike by the river. Normally, the Mississippi is climbing it's banks this time of year.

 

The urge I had a month ago to enroll my daughter for kindergarten next year - it passed. February is a cruel, cruel month for home schooling mothers; a month in which decisions regarding your children's education should never be made.

School is going much better these days, especially when I wake up on time and stay faithful to my role throughout the day. I find that I must present clear expectations to my preschooler regarding the transition time from school-with-mom to independent work time. Activities arranged on her shelf, along with a timer and reward of snack-time when it beeps works like a charm. Most days.

I learned two cool new things lately: one is that the Funiculi, Funicula song was written for the opening of the funicular railway that climbs Mt. Vesuvius - the very same volcano that destroyed Pompeii. The other is that there is a saint named Deo Gratius. What a great name!

St. Patrick's Day was celebrated with plenty of Irish stew, soda bread, and celtic music. For some reason I have no photos of this day, just memories to cherish in my heart.

Sunshine fractured her foot after jumping off the swing and landing funny. She hopped around on one foot for over a week.

Group violin concerts were presented. Dancer performed the Bach Gavotte in D with her Book 3/4 class. Sunshine did not perform that day since she was still hopping on one foot.

The girls attended Suzuki graduations at Orchestra Hall. Now I understand why moms and teachers get goosebumps at the sight of Twinkles through seniors crammed on stage performing together. Just think of how many hours of loving and dedicated practice this group represents.

Sunshine performed half of Suzuki Piano Volume 2 in a home recital with her Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Aron in attendance. She's looking forward to moving on. Here's Mozart's Arietta.

 

She also won $20 in an art contest sponsored by the city water department. Pretty exciting stuff in the life of a ten year old!

Three more poems from the MODG curriculum have been memorized, copied, illustrated, and recited. I remember memorizing the Jabberwocky in middle school. I think my 6th grader enjoyed it as much as I did at that age.

Catalogs and flyers for summer camp opportunities are stuffing the pretty pink file folder that sits on my desk, blank forms just waiting to be completed and returned before the looming deadlines. Decisions regarding who can do what and how much it will all cost and how we will ever pay for it all await an answer. With artistic endeavors, summer maintenance is crucial; intensive day camps are ideal.

But - the van needs new brakes, the play set area needs fresh wood chips this year, the oldest child needs new (or used) and bigger clothes, the gasoline and grocery bills are rising, and homeschooling curriculum costs are around the corner.

So, if you have tips on cutting your grocery bill in half (while still eating healthy, unprocessed, preferably organic, high in protein and low-carb) please share! Our ideal amount for the grocery budget happens to be just a smidgen over the $30/week per person that an average Minnesotan would receive in food support - another interesting tidbit I learned recently. Our mayor recently undertook the "Hunger Challenge" and had a difficult time eating for just $30 a week. No wonder I am having trouble meeting this goal with a family of seven.

Well, Holy Week is upon us, just a few days away. We are utilizing the Lingua Angelica program to brush up on the Tantum Ergo and Stabat Mater. Next week we will take a few days off to clean, pray, and attend services. Here are some magnificent musical selections on CD to set the mood around the house for the Triduum.

Before I sign off on this catch-up post I want to share with you this post at the new Mom-Heart Blog - The Myth of a Perfect Life. Let Sally's soothing voice encourage you today as you meet the multitude of responsibilities of raising a family.

Deo Gratias!

 

For St. Valentine's

Love this. Do check it out: My Valentine to Home Schooling at The Home School Mom.

Just Because I Can

Do you teach to your child's learning style or your own? Or do you somehow strike a happy medium?

Back in November I attended a talk for home-schooling moms on the topic of Learning Styles. Two years ago I had heard this very talk (by the same speaker) and went home totally confused. My Perfect Paula did not pay attention to detail, my Sociable Sue could actually concentrate and get her work done, and my Competent Carl acted more like a Wiggle Willy. Even after reading Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks I had no idea what curricula would work best for each of than I did before.

Because of this confusion, I almost skipped this talk the second time. I went anyway because, well, I needed a night out, and am so glad I did. The time interval and experience added just the perspective I needed to take everything she said with a generous grain of salt. Instead of trying to categorize my children and fit them into boxes, I returned home simply wanting to know more about them and how they thought they learned best (because, quite frankly. I am often too busy to notice!). I made up a little quiz based on several learning models discussed in the talk and asked them to draw a picture of their ideal learning environment.

Here is my un-scientific quiz: Download Learning Style Profile

Based on their answers, here are the learning profiles we have:

Child #1:

• likes desk by a window
• prefers to doodle on paper
• would like to sit on an exercise ball instead of a chair
• color preference: green
• natural sunshine
• morning person
• likes to read alone or be read to
• likes books with pictures
• prefers wooden pencils
• doesn't like so much touch

To Do list for Mom: provide thinking putty and doodle pad, bring up exercise ball, set up word searches or crosswords with spelling words on spellingcity.com, draw more diagrams for math & science, keep desk by window with pine tree view.

 

Child # 2:

• likes sitting at a desk
• likes to work alone, but near others
• prefers quiet
• color preferences: orange and violet
• natural sunshine
• likes to suck on something (usually hair)
• morning person
• reads on her own
• likes color in books
• would like to doodle on a white board
• prefers mechanical pencils
• likes hugs and touch

To Do list for Mom: provide sugar-free candy to suck on, more hugs, get a little white board for desk, stock up on mechanical pencils, ask her to write plays to perform about what she studies in history and literature, continue use of classical music on headphones, purchase notebooks and supplies in orange & violet.

 

Child #3:

• likes to stand while working
• likes to walk around and do work various places
• color preference: brown
• would rather be near a window
• likes inside lights
• sucks on pencil eraser
• morning person
• reads on his own
• likes books with color pictures
• prefers wooden pencils
• not so much touch
• wants a little white board

To Do list for Mom: keep letting him stand to complete work (except for maybe handwriting), put work (like math pages) on a clipboard so he can move around with it, provide sugar-free candy to suck on, get a little white board for desk, more science experiments (resume 365 Simple Science Experiments during Together Time), hands-on projects and models, words on spelling city, buy electronics from thrift store to take apart and reassemble.

Obviously, I can't and probably shouldn't cater to every preference, but I was more than happy to accommodate some requests - just because I can. Oh, the beauty of homeschooling!

 

How Boys Learn

A Few Little Math Games

The Little Princess, now that she can count, is figuring out on her own how to add. She is so impressed with herself when she adds two numbers (usually using her fingers) and comes up with a total.

If she were my first child I am sure I would be jumping the gun and ordering Math U See Alpha, but I know better now. She is still learning how to write her numbers and still says, "Eleven, twelve, fourteen, fourteen." That tricky "TH" is as difficult for her as "N" as in, "H-I-J-K-L-M-M-O-P".

After we do Little Saints I try to remember to play some math games with her before the baby wakes up from his nap. I am sure these are nothing new, they came out of my head from somewhere, and she enjoys them immensely.

One is Dancing Dice. She shakes the dice in a basket while the Little Saints listening selections play and when I hit pause she stops shaking the basket and adds the dice. Right now she counts all the dots, but I am hoping it becomes more automatic with practice.

 

 "Four and two make six!"

Another one she enjoys uses the 100s board. We named it Race to One Hundred. She wins every time. On the way I ask her what number she is on. She usually doesn't know, but it's a good way to learn numbers past 20 and maybe even to start recognizing patterns.

She always insists on going all the way to 100 even if I suggest we quit at 50. Nope - 100 is her goal and she is always her favorite color "lellow"!

Wordless Wednesday

Finding Our Rhythm

I feel as if we have been living in 5/4 time, like there has been one beat too many in day. A few changes and I *think* we are back to an even keel.

We found we needed more margin around breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast at 7:00 am just won't work for our family in this season of life.

The mornings are going better and the afternoon practice/read/finish school rotation is more manageable. Morning Devotions are really stressful with a toddler who fills his diaper or wants to nurse in the middle of everything and a preschooler who feels left out and acts naughty. We really have to have a plan for them during devotion time or else I get too frustrated and want to quit. every. single. day.

Afternoon music practice is going more smoothly after consulting with teachers and deciding which instrument would be primary for each girl. Practice days and times have been adjusted accordingly. Stepping up to the music program at MacPhail has been challenging, but they are making great strides and really seem to fit in quite well. I think this was a good move, musically. I wish we had started out there to begin with, but the price and downtown location always scared me off.

The only real glitch now is with ballet. I enrolled the girls with the expectation that they would be in the same class at a time when I could drop them off and my husband could pick them up on his way home from work.

Well, the new teacher assessed Sunshine to be a level below her older sister and wants her to attend a different class. The added trip to pick her up from the later class means that my daughter eats a bag dinner and reads a book (or two) twice a week while her sister is in class. Then I have to go back for her when her level ends at 7:30. This is not the happy, convenient situation I envisioned.

Add this to the pre-existing schedule of getting my son to and from karate and boy's choir and it totals to 96 miles of driving and over three hours in the van, at least on Thursdays. Doing the home-ballet-choir-home loop twice is not what I had in mind when I signed them up, but at least the different classes are on the same night back-to-back. I am sure this is nothing compared to the chauffeuring we will do in the years to come.

Oh well, at least the evening light is wonderful and we can see the moonrise. Autumn is so beautiful, and even more beautiful when viewed from inside the van without having to inhale allergens and clouds of gnats. I love fall, even if it makes me feel lousy.

 

Every now and then I (like most moms) have to re-evalute my discretionary time. Reading, hand crafts, typing up and organizing recipes, making lesson plans, sleeping, exercising, blogging - all are so important to me. I want to do them all every day but there simply is not enough time, so if my blog is quiet this fall you will know why!

Oh, one more thing - will you please pray that my daughter's beloved cat shows up? We have not seen her in a few days and there are many tears falling and tissues being used around here!

Our School - The First Three Weeks

Well, we started school the day after Labor Day like most families. We took a class photo on the porch just like always.

I think the kids were a little more excited than I was. I guess that's a good thing. I really am trying to remember to smile more. I even taped the lipstick smile cartoon to my bathroom mirror and added Kirsten's quote: "An extraordinary education begins with a smiling mother."

Well, it's not Kirsten's quote, but it's the one that she posted and I think of her when I read it. I've never met Kirsten IRL, but maybe I will someday since our girls are pen-pals. I really admire moms who smile.

 

My students enjoyed having special outfits to wear - especially the preschooler. She loves to have special clothes for specific occasions. For instance, she has one pair of panties she won't wear because she says they are her Birthday Panties.

And the kids enjoyed the schulte cones. The contents were minimal but they were no less appreciative.

Usually we "do school" four days a week and spend Wednesday mornings at piano lessons. This month I said "yes" to so many field trips and appointments so we are doing morning schoolwork only two or three days a week in September and October. Subjects have been layered on each week. We are almost up to the full load, except we still  have to find time to finish the IEW writing program.

 

Time Management is the battle I am picking the big goal for us this year. Really - are all home schooled kids as  lazy relaxed as mine? Mine seem to take forever to get ready in the morning and transition from breakfast to chores to schoolwork. They can tell time, but just don't seem to get how fast time ticks by and how behind we get by lunchtime with five minutes wasted here and there.

I think they are finally getting the timer enforcement - I am insisting they wear headphones and listen to baroque or classical music to keep from being so distracted by one another. The first two or three weeks they timed each subject and now they are setting their timers to the time allotted. At noon I add up the minutes they wrote down and compare it to the time gone by. Sometimes there are large chunks of time unaccounted for! I really don't get how this happens and the child somehow never knows.

Well, I take that back. One day Sunshine admitted that she spent time here and there watching out for the butterfly to emerge from it's chrysalis. Today my eldest had an hour unaccounted for with no explanation. Hopefully the long talk with the principal after dinner will be the remedy for this time-wasting syndrome.

(yes, he does his school work standing up)

I know many homeschoolers are not so uptight about this, but I find that our day works best if the book  work is finished by lunch so we can have wider margins around lunch and dinnertime. On paper we have an hour and a half for lunch & outside before beginning a piano/read alone/check-in with mom rotation from 1:30 - 3:00. The goal is to finish by 3:00 and gather together for art or science before getting back outside.

These kids love outside.

After that I unload the dishwasher and start dinner. Two nights a week my son has to eat early and get to choir by 6pm. The toddler's tummy alarm goes off about 5pm so we have all been eating earlier and having more time to clean up after dinner and to spend more time outside before the sun goes down. Or like tonight, finishing school work!

Do your kids cherish their time outside as much as ours? The current passion is concocting recipes from the doll mud pie book such as Pine Needle Upside Down Cake, Roasted Rocks, and Sandwiches made from sand and leaves. Pretty tasty cuisine for dolls.

 

Getting the little ones to bed by 7:00 - 7:30pm has made a huge difference in their happiness and well being as well as the rest of the family. It's nice to have an hour that is noticeably quieter than the rest. By 8pm dad reads to the the big kids, we pray, and they get off to bed by 8:30. Usually.

And as for the actual school work? My 6th grader is totally excited about The Ancients. She made the nomad tent suggested in SOTW and plans to sleep there tonight.

My 4th grader is combining history and home ec. by cooking from Eat Your Way Through the USA. Everything has been a hit so far!

(lobster casserole and blueberry pie for Maine)

Our 3rd grader was pretty non-compliant with the timer directives for the first two weeks, but then he got in gear and was able to finish his work in two hours and start making lunch by 11:30! I about fell over in disbelief. Maybe he will turn out to be a reliable fellow after all.

The preschooler is usually cooperative with preschool activities, though we just do the plans when we can. Sometimes before the toddler's nap, sometimes during. She surprises me with her memory for song lyrics, counting, interest in the alphabet, reciting the months of the year, and even adding numbers on her own.

And the toddler - he loves to "read" in his little hand-me-down Thomas chair. He's soooo adorable at this age - which happens to be 18 months this week.

One more crucial item to our school routine has been resurrected - Morning Devotional Time. It's almost back in place - we have yet to decide if this should take place before or after breakfast. Either way, we had slacked off with our routine of morning prayer, reading the saint-of-the-day, a chapter of Proverbs-a-day, and singing a hymn. As for the Devotional Stories for Little Folks - honestly the girls just read them on their own in years past. Since their brother has not gotten to reading them, the girls unanimously agreed that he needed to hear these stories and get on the bandwagon of putting some more virtues in practice, so I am reading them out loud for the first time even though I honestly don't like cutesy moralizing stories. But if it works and bears fruit I am willing to give them a try.

The theme of our home school mom's group also inspired this change: First Things First. After deciding on this theme one of the co-leaders came across this article on the same topic by Jeannie Fulbright that confirmed our chosen focus.

At our first meeting she read the article aloud (with tears in her eyes) and we handed out notebooks decorated with a picture of the proverbial cart before a horse. It was such a poignant reminder that everything we do as homeschoolers is difficult enough with out God's help, and can be unbearably difficult unless we put God first and ask his blessings on our day and on our children.

Lots of Questions About Resources! A Homeschooling Meme

Lots of Questions About Resources:: A Homeschooling Meme

The amazing Grace at Our Field of Little Flowers tagged me for this meme ...

Of course I am way behind on blogging and you are probably wondering what is going on over here and why I am returning to blogging with a meme of all things. Well, because it's easier! Easier than updating everyone on our camping trip to the North Shore and resuming school and all the little ways our children are growing and changing.

I will get to all that eventually but this post was a little easier to prepare while listening to music practice. Yes, although I used to get offended when my clarinet professor read the newspaper during my lesson, I now multitask while my kids practice piano and violin. This is not the Suzuki way. Shhhhh - don't tell their teachers!

Anyway . . .

One homeschooling book you have enjoyed::
One? Ha, ha, ha.

In the early years: You Are Your Child's First Teacher.

A little later: Katrina Kenison's Mitten Strings for God and Susan Schaeffer Macaulay's For the Children's Sake and For the Family's Sake.

A little after that: Sally Clarkson's Educating the WholeHearted Child and Elizabeth Foss' Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home. (there is a new edition of the Whole Hearted Child on my wish list).

What I eventually (after meandering through Waldorf and Charlotte Mason inspired approaches) modeled our curriculum after: Berquist's Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum.

When my family grew and things weren't so easy anymore: Jackie Wellwood's One Hundred and One Devotions for Homeschool Moms and Large Family Logistics.

Currently exploring: Carol Barnier's books.

One resource you wouldn’t be without::
Well, I have to agree with Grace that an internet connection is invaluable. In fact I am intrigued by the idea of using an iPad with apps for homeschooling fun and exploration, or getting one for the coffee table so we can cuddle on the sofa while we surf.

An even more valuable resource would have to be my husband. There is no way I would or could homeschool without his support. He totally supports what I am doing, lets me make most of the curriculum choices and is generous with the education budget. Even though he does not take over teaching any subjects, he is always the answer man when the kids have questions, the comedian when we need humor and takes over doing the dishes when I am too tired at the end of a day (even if I am tired for a year or two). He puts in extra hours at home to help out instead of spending lots of extra time at the office or taking on side jobs for extra money.

Third, I have to say I have been totally blessed by attending a homeschooling mom's support group once a month. I feel much less like a homeschooling hermit by attending meetings, hearing talks and gleaning ideas and inspiration. Really, over the course of three years I have learned more from these meetings than all the books I have read.

One resource you wish you’d never bought::
Lots of wooden Montessori manipulatives. I paid too much for them, didn't really know how to properly use them, and now they just sit on the shelf.

 One resource you enjoyed last year::

Phonetic Zoo for spelling. Sorry I keep plugging this program, but hey - it works for us. Also, doing Artistic Pursuits with another family kept us faithful to art time.

One resource you wished existed::
A unit study for 1st grade based on Aesop's Fables - complete with narration of the stories, drawing the animals for art, studying the animals for science, poetry, biblical references for the lessons and virtues, and simplified versions of the stories in the form of phonics readers.

One more - I think someone should go into business selling boxed kits for Little Saints. I am so thankful to have all the weeks' supplies in ziploc bags ready to go, but would have paid $$ to have it all done for me.

One homeschooling catalogue you enjoy reading:
Emmanuel Books for sure. The Sonlight catalog gives me ideas of how to spice up geography with living books. I also keep the Veritas and ChistianBook.com catalogs for ideas.

One homeschooling website you use regularly:
Hmmm, I enjoy reading the 4Real and Well Trained Mind forums, though I seldom comment on either one because I feel like I have nothing new to contribute. Really, whatever question I have I just use the search feature first and come up with a wealth of information from previous threads. I have recently discovered two new collaborative blogs - Simple Homeschool and The Heart of the Matter and enjoy these quite a bit.

Thank you, btw, to those who have clicked book links and ordered something recently. A little Amazon credit came my way and it was most welcome!

Now I have to tag six other homeschoolers to join in this Resource game:

Kirsten at Sonlight Garden. (I keep thinking about a quote she posted, "The most extraordinary education begins with a mother who smiles.")

Lori at Loving Them From Scratch

Sarah at With a Hopeful Heart

Jamie Jo at Lord Make Me a Saint

Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things

Jen at Northwoods Classical Academy

 

Ready? Or Not?

I know, I know, in spite of all the inspiring back-to-school posts arriving daily in my google reader I am flooded with the urge to procrastinate the commencement of another full school year. I just don't feel ready yet! Plus, the weather is finally offering gorgeous days with highs in the low 80's and dew points under 60. I am determined not to let them go to waste.

Our books our in, the classroom is dusted, new school supplies are waiting to be opened, and the shelves are organized. We have had plenty of summertime diversions but I am just not emotionally, mentally or spiritually ready to start. Our summer maintenance schedule of math, music and reading combined with household duties and care of the littles has been enough, even too much at times. I had hoped that the more relaxed pace would provide space to be less stressed, more joyful. Well it has, a little, but not in great strides the way I had hoped. 

It helps that the baby (finally) started sleeping through the night. It helps that the girls can dress him and change poopy diapers. It helps that we have successfully completed three weeks of Little Saints Preschool. Some of those at home "mom-cation" ideas I've read about in blogsphere have helped too, but in reality there is only so much recharging a mom with two little ones can do without being needed every three minutes. This inevitable leads to daydreaming about spending two weeks at a spa where each day would include healthy meals, exercise, a massage, a nap and several hours for reading and prayer. Come to think of it, a weekend at the hermitage is definitely more suited to my time and budget - but do you think my husband would let me off for a whole weekend?

What's an introverted melancholic homeschooling mom of five to do?

Ok, maybe not.

Making a gradual and prayerful new beginning would be a more permanent solution. Maybe this is the year NOT to hit the ground running the day after Labor Day. Here's what I am formulating in order to ease into things:

Monday - Family outing to the beach one last time. Grill burgers, eat watermelon and corn on the cobb.

Tuesday - Special breakfast, new back-to-school outfits, school pictures on the porch, sharpen pencils and open school supplies, handwriting and math during preschool, science together during baby's naptime, play outside, practice violin and piano. Indulge in Le Petit Ecolier, those French chocolate shortbread schoolboy cookies. Maybe this year I will even make Schultüte.

Wednesday - Piano lessons begin, cats go to the vet in the afternoon, play outside, practice violin and piano.

Thursday - A "Not Back to School" Track and Field Day sponsored by a local homeschooling group. Play outside, practice violin and piano. Boy's choir starts.

Friday - Some school and practicing in the morning, a nature hike in the afternoon.

Saturday - Violin lessons at MacPhail begin.

After that? Maybe we will layer in a subject or two a week. I have three, no four new approaches to try this year.

• The first is to get up an hour earlier and have breakfast at 7 am instead of 8 am.Ha, ha. This will be the most difficult change for our family!
• The second is to use timers again, but this year enforce that the kids write down on their schedule how long it takes them to do each subject every day.
• The third is to provide each child with a portable CD player and headphones to keep them from being distracted by preschool activities and one other.
• The fourth? To read a chapter of Proverbs every day - thirty one chapters, one for each day of the month!

Here's a sneak peek at one of the back-to-school outfits ~ there's nothing like cute clothes to get a mom excited, even if they are not for her!

(The real name of our homeschool is Queen of Heaven Academy, but these were so close to "Pinewood" I couldn't resist!)

(Cartoon from Todd Wilson's Official Book of Homeschooling Cartoons Vo. 3)

It Gets Better Every Year - Sixth Grade

(Alternately titled, "Everything I Know About Ancient Egypt I Learned From King Tut ")

It's true - I have absolutely no recollection of learning the ins and outs of ancient Egypt in my public school experience. I do remember having the words to the 80's hit song completely memorized. So sad! If I had received a classical education I could have memorized material infinitely more worthwhile!

Sometimes the good Lord has pity on me and sends opportunities to help me out such as sending the King Tut exhibit to the Science Museum in St. Paul just in the nick of time to to get a head start on our education about Pharaohs, ankhs and canopic urns. I do believe we came out of the omnitheater and exhibit with more questions than answers, but this is good! We will have much to discover this year!

First of all, I should explain that the ideas of saving the ancients until middle school was the clincher when it came to deciding which curriculum to sidle up to. Introducing polytheistic cultures in primary grades was my main concern with most classical education programs. My qualm was confirmed after hearing Carole Joy Seid confirm my own thoughts, "The only God kids should know at a young age is the God of the Bible." Even though I though MODG seemed to have way too many years of American history in grade school, I now see the wisdom in how this history curriculum unfolds.

I was a little stumped after opening the syllabus earlier this year to discover that beyond reading about eight really cool living history books, doing some map work, a time line and reading a whole twelve pages of Old World and America, not much more of a framework is provided. Here's what I am adding in to give her studies a spine, providing that Wednesday afternoons remain free for History Fun:

• Story of the World Vol. 1 text, CD, and Activity Book (planning to get halfway through this year)
• SOTW Notebooking pages (I think I printed out these). They give a checklist for completing each chapter is two days per week, complete with narration pages, maps, reading list, and a project record page.
• Draw and Write Through History Creation Through Jonah and Ancient Egypt Drawing Book (to use instead of the SOTW coloring pages)
• Ancient Egyptians and their Neighbors Activity Guide
• Ancient Egypt History Pockets
• Science in Ancient Egypt
• Lift the Lid on Mummies
• Hieroglyphs Stencil Book
• Secrets of the Pyramids Maze Book
• Tutankhamen's Tomb pop-up book
• Famous Figures of Ancient Times (to cut and assemble with brads)
• Egyptian Temple Sticker Book

Will we get to all of this? I have no idea, but my 11yo seems much more excited about Ancient History than American History and I have a hunch she will enjoy all the hands-on projects. SOTW covers much more than just ancient Egypt, including India and China as well. This will be a beneficial addition to the continent studies she completed in 5th grade.

Religion:: To coordinate history with Bible Study we have Veritas Press cards and a handy chart to help line things up. I would also like to somehow coordinate this with Journey Through the Bible. I am a little puzzled as to why the MODG recommendation is to study the book of St. Mark instead of the Old Testament. I am not sure if we will go with that. We are also a bit weary of memorizing the Baltimore Catechism all over again so I think I will finally put the Catholic Book of Knowledge to use and assign a few pages a week. This three volume set was given to me in my teaching days - the school librarian rescued it when the DRE cleaned out everything Pre-Vatican II!

Latin:: Latina Christiana II with the DVDs. (MODG)

Spelling:: Phonetic Zoo.

Grammar:: Easy Grammar 6 and the Great Editing Adventure Vol. 2. (MODG)

Writing:: Finish IEW Level A and begin Ancient History Writing Lessons.

Poetry: MODG Harp & Laurel Wreath.

Math:: Math-U-See Epsilon (fractions)

Science:: A Beka's Observing God's World

Art:: Calligraphy for Kids and drawing for the history notebook.

Music:: I am going to go ahead and use the suggested listening in MODG while she does her seatwork with headphones and a portable CD player. Piano and violin lessons will continue.

Logic:: Critical Thinking Activities

French:: Rosetta Stone

Literature:: Titles from the MODG list.

 

Ready or not, here it comes!

(from Todd Wilson's Official Book of Homeschooling Cartoons. When I read these I laugh until I cry then I really cry because they are so sad but true!)

 

Fortunately, Not All Learning Happens in this Little Room

Have you seen the school room blog hop? Oh, my! It's fascinating.

Some moms cleaned, others purposely did not. Some rooms are a comfortable mess, others are way out of control. Some look like a page from Pottery Barn Kids, some like public school classrooms, others like regular family rooms with no traces of homeschooling anywhere.

What an easy place to get caught up in mixed emotions. If comparison is the death of contentment for you, enter with caution!

Personally, browsing this blog hop only confirmed my desire to paint our little room a cheery shade of green. Now if only I could quadruple it's size and enamel all the oak trim white.

I'm not going to join the hop, but if you have been reading long enough you know what our little room looks like:

 

Each wall is painted a different color. One has magnetic paint too, but not at a toddler-friendly height. Well, he thinks a toddler-friendly height and knocks off any magnet he can reach!

We used to all fit in here with little IKEA desks but now it's basically a library with my desk. There is just enough room for a small rug for doing preschooly things on the floor. I send two to the kitchen table and one to the den. Books not currently in use have to go to storage bins in the basement, including all our beloved Five in a Row books.

Oh well. Homeschooling does not have to mean "school at home". One big room in a walk-out basement, over a garage, or added on near the kitchen (with nooks for different activities) (oh, and a sofa and rocking chair) (and a laptop just for school) would be nice but right now we just have to make due with what we have! That's ok, that's life. Homeschooling does not require duplicate furnishings in a separate room. All of life is education.

It Gets Better Every Year - Fourth Grade

Here's another curriculum post for what it's worth (in case it helps anybody out). Judging from the comments, a few moms find this sort of thing helpful so I guess I will keep going. Thinking it all out helps get me in the mood to start a new year, which is in the forefront of my mind anyway.

Fourth Grade

Math: Math U See Delta (division)

Language: Prima Latina and Rosetta Stone French. Can I just admit something? I am such a ding dong that it has taken me a few years to learn how to use the Memoria Press Latin programs. After realizing where the tests and quizzes are (in the Teacher's Manual) I spent a perfectly good afternoon standing at a copy machine making test & quiz booklets with the CD exercise forms all in order. Plus, I had to send back a set of flashcards when I realized that Prima Latina and Latina Christiana 1 use the same set. One more thing I learned - if you separate all the flashcards at the beginning of the year you will find (on the very last sheets) the Latin Mottos for each lesson. So, if you are using these for the first time, separate them all now, rubber band them by lessons and keep them in a little plastic storage box.

Spelling: Phonetic Zoo, finish Level A, then move on to B.

Grammar: Language of God C.

Handwriting: Penmanship with Proverbs.

Poetry - MODG, from Harp & Laurel Wreath.

Religion: MODG (Seven Sacraments, continuation of Old Testament stories).

Writing: Finish IEW Level A, then begin the U.S. History Writing Lessons.

Science: Finish Flying Creatures (all together), then A Beka Understanding God's World. We will also slip in Science in Colonial America - this is more of an interesting book to read rather than a science text. During piano I have them read the A Beka Developing Good Health and Christian Liberty Nature Reader for their grade level.

History: The idea in MODG is to revisit U.S. history in more detail after the 3rd grade overview. Fourth grade covers the early explorers through Colonial Times. Fifth grade continues on through the Civil War. I really have no clue when the 1860s - present is covered, I think not until high school (I detect the dreaded GAP) so I might want to cover these eras next summer. Anyway, I could not resist switching from Pioneers and Patriots to From Sea to Shining Sea. The drawback is that now I am on my own designing lesson plans and inserting the "living books" into the schedule. We will also explore some Colonial America Crafts, Plymouth Colony History Pockets, and continue a time line.

Geography: This is the year for the Fifty States. Instead of following the MODG syllabus we are going to use the Trail Guide to U.S. Geography and these notebooking pages. Supplemental material will be Eat Your Way Through the USA, Little Man in the Map, United Tweets of America, state bird and flower puzzle, various USA puzzles, and the Sequence States and Capitols game. This is also a great year to collect the state quarters. Last time I had a 4th grader we tried using these books from the Sleeping Bear Press. Good books, but a chore to request (many were only available through ILL) and they never seemed to arrive in time. I wish they would publish the whole set in paperback at an affordable price! I also picked up some Map Skills Levels 3 and 4.

Art: MODG recommends the McIntyre Drawing Textbook. My eldest liked this book so I guess it's a keeper. Like I mentioned before, we are also doing How to Teach Art to Children all together.

Reading: I forgot to mention this last time, but we do use the MODG literature lists. I just designate a shelf per grade and they get to choose their books at their own pace. I should require book reports sometimes but rarely do!

Music: For fourth grade MODG recmommends listening to Baroque music. This is easy enough - it's the perfect backdrop to school time. I am also gearing up to use Classic Tunes and Tales.

Other: Typing Instructor for Kids, Critical Thinking Activities.

Enrichment: Did I mention field trips in the last post? We have plans to attend Minnesota Orchestra Young People's Concerts, Children's Theatre productions, MHS History Events, MN Zoo Home School Day, etc.

Piano lessons will continue with our beloved teacher. The biggest change is that we plan to pursue Suzuki violin at the MacPhail Center for Music. This is a big step for us in terms of time, finances and commitment to practicing but we are excited about our new teacher and the expanded opportunities this program offers. Both individual and group lessons will be on Saturdays so we only have to make the hour trip once a week, the little brother and little ones can be left at home with dad and our weekdays will be freed up for better practicing and (hopefully) more time for crafts, baking, and getting dinner on the table by 6pm. The main drawback is that instead of graduating from Pre-Ballet and moving to Level 1 the girls will have a home school fitness class instead. Their excitement about this class quells my sadness over this change a tiny bit. The fitness curriculum includes relays, tag games, kick boxing, scooters, bowling, dance, tumbling, cardio, team ball activities, rock climbing and Presidential Fitness testing and awards. The amazing thing is that three of my kids can take this class for an eighth of the cost of having two in ballet!

That's it, I think. Hope this was helpful to somebody!

 

It Gets Better Every Year - Third Grade

Building on what we have done last year and the year before, and the year before that, and so on, here's the plan for my little man:

Math: Math U See Gamma - he does well with this program, but thinks it's a little boring. I like the DVD teaching element and the hands-on manipulative blocks (if needed), but I always have panic attacks that whatever math program we are using is "not enough" and am constantly tempted to switch programs. My husband advises me to stick with MUS so I will, but we will also supplement with some Singapore and MathTacular DVDs.

Spelling: Phonetic Zoo Level A. Last year we did Sound Beginnings for phonics. I think this program will be a good next step in using phonetic rules to make sense of spelling. I love that this program fosters independence and mastery. They love using the portable CD player and headphones.

The following description is straight from the IEW website:

Spelling is Sequential

When we look at a word, we see it as a whole, so the correct sequence can be missed. This is why most workbook spelling programs don’t work. Auditory input and then spelling the word out loud, letter by letter, ensures accurate storage of the correct sequence in the brain, which allows for correct retrieval and accurate spelling.

The Phonetic Zoo is a teacher-guided phonetically-based audio spelling program.

After a short introductory lesson, students independently take spelling tests until mastery of the list is achieved. Students learn spelling rules incrementally, which will help with future spelling, and personal spelling lists ensure that all a student’s spelling needs are addressed.

Grammar/Writing: CHC Language of God - I realize that some people think formal grammar study is unnecessary at this age, but I equate the practice they get with this book with scale and etude books in music. I will use the writing assignments in the back this year before starting something like IEW. Come to think of it, my son might enjoy a pen-pal this year to supplement writing practice. Anyone interested?

Handwriting: Handwriting Can Help 3 (cursive) - because I think it's important to keep the art of handwriting alive and it's a great way to incorporate scripture verses.

Language: English from the Roots Up - I love that this program takes just a few minutes a day but reaps such valuable rewards. Also Rosetta Stone French - very independent and the kids think it's fun.

History: A Beka's Our American Heritage - because it provides on overview of American history biographically. He did not read well enough to get through many biographies last year (which is the focus of MODG 2nd grade history). Maybe I am underestimating, but I think this book is a better fit for this child than How Our Nation Began and it is an option in the MODG syllabus, supplemented with the same living history books. A more detailed study of American history is comlpeted in MODG 4th-5th grades. He is also excited about the fun extras such as assembling Famous Figures of the American Revolution.

Poetry: MODG - I love how the poetry selections from the Harp & Laurel Wreath coordinate with MODG history. This is a keeper. I have my students copy a stanza a week into their notebooks, illustrate them, and recite for the camera, dad, and visiting relatives and friends too.

Logic: Critical Thinking Activities (K-3). Just for fun.

Religion: MODG - Ten Commandments and Old Testament Bible stories. I still have not decided if we will do the book as directed in the syllabus or use a Catholic Lapbook. Making a narrated and illustrated notebook of the Old Testament stories has become a treasured tradition.

Geography: Take it to Your Seat Geography (3-4) - I almost sent this book back to Emmanual Books after I realized it involved laminating almost every page, cutting, and assembling pocket folders but after prepping Little Saints this now seems easy. It took some time, but as of today they are ready to go. I think he will like the hands-on and independent approach - it reminds me of what the girls did in Montessori with three part cards. There are only thirteen folders so this will not take all year to complete.

Science: We are still working our way through Apologia Flying Creatures as a summer study. I am not sure if we will have a clean stop and start or an overlap with A Beka's Exploring God's World. My kids like the color photos and reading fun facts for themselves. Doing the quizzes and tests with science terminology help them to be accountable for what they read. I also have the kids read A Beka's Health Safety and Manners during piano lessons. I think boys especially need a little reinforcement when it comes to hygiene and good habits.

Music: MODG covers some major composers to which I add the Zeezok books by Opal Wheeler, but this summer I took Classic Tunes and Tales off the music shelf and decided that I would like my kids to know these fifty pieces by name and composer. The authors put catchy words to the musical themes, provide a brief history of the piece and composer and offer reproducible activities that focus on a concept the piece illustrates. This book covers K-8 so we will cover just the tunes and composers in the beginning and actually do more of the advanced activities toward the end if we get that far. The only thing left to do is to make a CD of the selections like we did for Little Saints - too bad one is not provided with all the music in order. We will skip the Let's Learn Music book MODG recommends since the info is covered in piano lessons and choir.

Art: I have rather given up on Mommy It's a Renoir. This year my third grader will be creating a history notebook using Draw Write Now. I penciled in the volume and pages numbers in the syllabus. I am also going to do How to Teach Art to Children with all three kids two days a week. This course covers both the elements of art and famous artists, their masterpieces, and projects in each style. If we have enough in the budget (or Amazon credit from readers clicking book links and adding items to their cart, wink wink) I would like to add the collection of Artists DVDs produced by Devine Entertainment.

Enrichment: Piano lessons (part Suzuki, part Faber & Faber) - we have a wonderful teacher here in town. Land of Lakes Boys' Choir (he will be Voyager, the third of five choirs in this outstanding program). Karate (we committed through red belt, he is purple now, blue is in next, then red). I don't know what after that. Maybe then there will be time to try basketball in the winter or a baseball league in the summer.

As you can see, over the last two years we learned to take a pre-planned curriculum as a model, make some substitutions and additions suited to each child and to the strengths and weaknesses of our family, and still have enough of a framework to keep my sanity. It helps me to follow a general plan for each grade level and the children enjoy having their own curriculum for most subjects instead of doing so much together.

That's all! I always hope and pray that our plans are not too little and not too much. We may start up with only a few subjects at first and layer some in when the weather turns cold.

 

It Gets Better Every Year - Preschool

I think I almost know what we are doing for school next year. 99% sure. Boxes arrive on the porch almost daily these days and I am up late at night getting things shelved, copied and organized.

Recently I saw a post that advised moms NOT post one's school plans for the world to see. This is too much information, comparison breeds discontentment, etc. While I can see the point, (and have often wallowed in an inferiority complex after seeing what other people do for school) I am not sure I agree. I love to see other's plans and I think (hope and pray) I am confident enough to be glad when other moms find what works for their family and am experienced enough to discern what would work for ours. Sometimes I have come across ideas for which I am eternally grateful. Secondly, I love to see how homeschooling moms can take a pre-planned curriculum and adapt it to their needs like we do. Thirdly, typing up these annual plans helps me sort it all out in my own brain and I appreciate any feedback my readers have to offer.

Starting with Preschool - we are planning to do the LIttle Saints program. Are you wondering if I am out of my mind to start up a new program like this with my fourth child? See, this is another problem with posting school plans - we open ourselves to to criticism, real or perceived! Why do I want to try such a program that requires so much prep work when I have everything I need for Alphabet Path and Circle Time? Because I don't think my 4yo is ready for that yet. I want to wait until she likes coloring and drawing and can get more out the activities in those plans. The variety of topics in Little Saints and emphasis on reading books would be a better fit for her. Plus, I roped invited two other moms in the area to divide up the prep work! We will each prepare three sets of 10-15 lessons and I (well, my hubby) will compile a CD of all the listening selections. This is much less intimidating than the prospect of preparing all 40 lessons. At the end of the month we will all meet at a park for a playdate and swap bags of the crafts and activities all prepped and ready to go.

We also have preschool activity bags ready to go and will take out a battery of Montessori type works from storage as well as a slew of Lauri puzzles. Typically, I spend the first hour of school time with my preschooler before she is expected to do the things on her shelf independently. This can be mighty difficult depending on what is happening with the baby and how caught up we are on the housework. I also have to fight the temptation to sit down at the computer at 9 am. Devoting the first hour to the youngest student is a much wiser investment.

I would love to post my plans for 3rd, 4th and 6th grades but I really have to finish prepping Little Saints first! I'll be back when I am done!

 

For the Birds

Our efforts to complete the Noeo Chemistry curriculum this year fell short. Seriously short. My son picked the subject, and we read a few of the books, but not much stuck, I am afraid. I am resolved to complete the experiments at least, then move on to ornithology.

The feeders have been cleaned and reflled, Dino built a birdhouse at a workshop with Grandpa, and the bluebirds have nested and laid eggs.

We spotted an oriole, then put out oranges and grape jelly. Will he return? We hope so, though we do not live near water.

We replaced our yucky plastic hummingbird feeder with a pretty red glass one and the little hummers came right away. I am paying $20 to the first child who can find their nest.

Here are a few resources I am assembling for the summer:

• Feeder Birds Coloring Book by Cornell Laboratory for Ornithology (will take to office store to be spiral bound)
• Apologia Zoology 1: Flying Creatures and the Notebooking Journal
• Praying Mantis and luna moth on order from Earth's Birthday Project
• The Boy Who Drew Birds picture book about John James Audubon
• Birds of Minnesota by Stan Teiela
• Wild About Minnesota Birds
• Binoculars for all
• Off!

 

 

 

Math & Science - What's a Mother to Use?

Are you thinking about next year's curriculum yet? I know I am, even though I am resolved not to order anything until August. The thing is, if I know what we won't be using, I can try to sell it off in June or July!

This will be our third year of using most of MODG and I am mostly comfortable with the subjects we have swapped for other options. Here are the subjects we have kept as is: religion, poetry, history (enhanced with History Pockets and Colonial Craft books), Latin, Latin songs, science,the literature list for each grade level, and Sound Beginnings for 2nd grade (though I might try this in 1st for the next child). We greatly enhance their basic plans for geography, art and music.

The subjects we swap for something else: spelling (Phonetic Zoo), handwriting (Memoria Press), grammar (CHC) and math (Math U See). We also added IEW Writing. I throw in books like the Christian Liberty Nature Readers, Mind Benders, and Sodoku to do during piano lessons. They are also doing Typing and Rosetta Stone French once a week.

While I am comfortable with most of these substitutions, it's the math and science options that are still keeping me up at night. I just can't decide what would be best.

Science: The kids tell me they are fine with the suggested ABeka. They like the variety of topics and color photos. I love that they can read the books independently and find the material interesting. They often pause in their reading with, "Did you know . . . ?" The quizzes and tests do not seem to bother them and I think that paying attention to terminology helps them be accountable for what they read. We usually skip the experiments if they can tell the outcome just by reading the description or if we don't have the right supplies.

So why do I have the itch to switch? I think because they adore doing science experiments and I feel guilty for not doing more of them. Another factor is that I see programs that look more thorough and/or more fun like Elemental Science, Apologia or The Young Scientists Club.

So what do you think? Should we switch to one of those? If we do, which one would be best for 3rd, 4th and 6th? Should they all do the same one? If not, which year-long topic is most appropriate for their grade level? Should I have them start at the beginning with biology? My mind is swimming with possibilities. I would like to take science off the back burner next year and do a little more with it.

Math: I think Math U See should be renamed "Math Without Tears". No tears this year (unlike Saxon 5/4)! But, we are still reviewing with the eldest (multiplication and division, planning to keep reviewing through fractions and decimals) and my 2nd grader is bored. Of course, he is the one who surprised all of us by scoring in the 5th grade level on the Peabody test in math, so this guy may need more of a challenge than his sisters. He liked my suggestion of going back to the ABeka book for the rest of this year. My 3rd grader is doing just fine with the methodical way Math U See approaches the times tables.

The itch to switch: I have a hunch they would love Teaching Textbooks. But does this program teach "enough"? Would I be out of touch with what they are learning? Would they be getting too much screen time? I also miss the hands-on aspect of Singapore, the metric measurements and the suggested games. I miss the challenge of Saxon and the inclusion of square roots, volume and elapsed time. But it's not about me - do the kids miss that? Probably not. Should my eldest repeat Saxon 5/4 and do it with her sister next year? Should they all switch to Teaching Textbooks? Or should we aim for some consistency and keep plugging away with Math U See through the Algebra level? I am torn between giving them a challenge with Saxon (even if they are not A+ math students), keeping math manageable with a slow but steady no-tears mastery program, and keeping them liking math. Would Teaching Textbooks accomplish all three?

I'll be up for the next hour chatting my husband's ear off about this as he tries to fall asleep in spite of me. If you have 2 cents to share, please do! I would really love to hear what works for you.

More Fun for Locals

Have you ever attended the Urban Expedition Days at the Landmark Center in Downtown St. Paul?

These free events are from 1 pm - 3 pm and offer music, dance and crafts from various countries. On the schedule this year: Chile, Somalia, Egypt and Czech Republic. We have found these events a great addition to geography studies!

While Our Minds are on Taxes . . .

Have you ever taken the time to apply for the non-profit sales tax exempt status for your homeschool?

Relatively quick and easy instructions and links can be found here. It really only takes ten minutes (without interruptions) to print and fill out two simple forms.

Our are ready to place in the mail!

Busy School Days

Searching?

If you happen to be looking for Circle Time plans they are here. They turned out very well until Easter or so and I have yet to type up what I do for spring and summer. All the books have been on my desk all summer waiting for a block of time for me to accomplish this and it has not yet happened. My apologies. I also plan to revise Fall - Lent to fit this calendar year. Maybe one of these Saturdays.

We also did the Alphabet Path a few years ago, or a version of Elizabeth's original and that should all be here if you are looking for that. This was great fun; very memorable. I might not put so much into the compsers and artists if I were to do it again, though, because they seem to remember nothing from those subjects. Everything else was a hit, especially making the alphabet on the floor with their bodies!

First Day Pics

We started school August 30th - two weeks ago. That's how behind I am with blogging!

My 5th grade Dancer will be a dancer again this year after having a year off. She will be in a homeschool class once a week at the new ballet academy located up here in the outer metro. She will also continue piano and violin. Instead of the theater class she did last year the girls are going to try out a children's choir taught by the same seasoned instructor. So far she likes the 5th grade work in Mother of Divine Grace. Not too many complaints other than the challenge of finishing seatwork before lunchtime - it hasn't happened yet and we have not cracked open the IEW writing class. Fifth graders just have more work to do but she is handling it all well.

 

Sunshine shines as bright as ever even after falling out of a tree and fracturing her radius. She gets the cast off this week! My 3rd grader will continue in piano, take up the violin again after an eight month sabbatical, and sing in the children's choir previously mentioned. After a month long session of fall soccer she hopes to start gymnastics again for some P.E (daring girl that she is). Her MODG 3rd grade work is off to a great start.

 

Rocky is still bringing rocks into the house by the dozens. This new 2nd grader will continue piano, begin the prep program in a renown boy's choir, play some soccer for a month and continue karate after enjoying the introductory lessons he tried this summer. (We all need some P.E. during the winter months up here!) He is preparing for First Holy Communion and finding the 2nd grade MODG a good fit.

 

What have I been calling this little whirlwind? Wild Strawberry, Little Princess, Pipsqueak? All of these nicknames still fit - she is as darling as she is demanding and definitely the tiniest squeaky wheel you ever saw. A strong choleric already, she throws two or three tantrums a day if she doesn't get her way. This is often, unfortunately. She just doesn not take "no" for an answer and "no" is not a word that my DH and I are afraid to use. One would think she would have figured out by now that mom & dad don't give in on anything. We are more stubborn than she is.

Anyway, she is officially a pre-preschooler around here and pleased as punch about it, constantly asking, "What I do for schoo-woo-wool?" She loves her daily dose of Shirley's Crafts, Preschool Activity Bags, and Kumon books for ages 2-3-4. She is thrilled about taking part in a Creative Movement ballet class that meets at the same time as her older sister's. She carries the ballet bag around all week, everyday asking if it is ballet day yet. I think she will learn the days of the week quickly at this rate.

 

Then there's the baby who, if we are lucky, sleeps through most of the morning seatwork. If he does wake up I end up holding him at my desk while trying to accomplish one-on-one time with each of the older children. This is not at all easy. He is suddenly at the age of wanting to handle everything on my desk within his reach. This is his work. The learning has begun.

The Older Kids Like Preschool Works Too

Transferring rice from cup to cup gives them something to do during Memory Work time with mom.

4th Day Back

And my preschooler is dominating my time and my desk. "I doing a good job!" she says with pride.

Portfolio Day

We are wrapping up the last week of school here (finally!). That's way I haven't been blogging, I guess. We've been doing our usual school work, getting to violin, tennis, soccer and baseball, and getting out to enjoy the summer evenings. I fall asleep soon after the baby so there has been precious little time for blogging. (He's now sleeping through the night bty!)

For the last few years I have purchased these great portfolio boxes for storing notebooks and artwork. The children love to decorate them - the front side at the beginning of the year and the backside at the end. Today we took down artwork from the last two months and the kids are sorting through everything, thoroughly enjoying the evidence of their progress over the course of the year. 

For tomorrow we are planning a tea party and a visit to a fun place, then out for ice cream. It's a tradition now, I guess. The very last day dad will take them fishing at a lake "up north".

Happy end-of-the-school-year, whenever that is for you!

Books & More Books

Our orders for next year's homeschool curriculum are arriving on the front porch and I have been sorting and storing dutifully, looking forward to some time in August when I can look at everything more closely and actually sketch out our daily and weekly plans. I only have a few more things to collect: a recorder for Dino, a Time Line for Sunshine from Sonlight, re-stocking of the art supplies, possibly some thinking putty, and the rest of the titles needed for Circle Time, literature reading, history and geography.

Can we talk homeschool budget? I am totaling my orders as I go and the yearly cost of homeschooling seems more staggering every year. However, after doing some research I find that we would be paying triple this amount if we sent three children to a nearby parish school and seven times more for a non-diocesan Catholic school option. Not that that gives one license to over-spend . . .

One must still economize. Beyond buying used or swapping, I have been looking for ways to save money on the book bill. Sometimes I put credit card points towards an Amazon gift card. Other times I have a little bit of credit from Amazon rewards (the tiny bit of commission I get if you click on a book link and buy it). Barnes & Noble offers a 20% discount to educators. I just heard about swagbucks and will look into that. One great option for me is a local bookseller who offers 27% off new books orders to homeschoolers. I like this option both for the deeper discount as well as the opportunity to support a local business.

Some of the books on the list I delivered to the bookstore last week are intended to supplement 5th grade MODG geography. I was perusing the Sonlight Core 5 thinking about how neat it would be to study some non-Western cultures and I realized that the 5th grade MODG geography is basically a tour of the continents - a perfect opportunity to mesh some Sonlight eastern hemisphere titles with MODG (if we have the time to read them).

I have been hearing from some readers who also use MODG with some tweaks and thought it would be fun to share those teaks. Here are the ones on my geography list - some titles are ideas from Sonlight and others are ideas from searching on Amazon. I am still researching titles and may make some changes. Some titles I have already red lined due to poor reviews on the Sonlight website.

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois  

Europe:

Europe (True Books) by Sandra Newman

My Tour of Europe: By Teddy Roosevelt, Age 10 by Ellen Jackson

This is . . . series by Miroslay SasekRome 

Paris, London, Venice, Ireland , Greece , Edinburgh, Rome

South America:

The Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark 

South America (True Books) by Libby Koponen

Seven Wonders of Ancient Central and South America by Micheal Woods

Asia:

Asia (True Books) by Gary Drevitch 

Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun by Rhonda Blumberg

Silkworms by Sylvia Johnson

Seven Wonders of Ancient Asia by Michael Woods

Sadako and the 1000 paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

Li Lun, Lad of Courage by Carolyn Treffinger

Eric Liddell: Something Greater Than Gold by Janet Benge 

India: The Culture by Bobbie Kahlman 

India the People by Bobbie Kahlman 

Mother Teresa by Demi

Teresa of Calcutta by D. Jeanene Watson
Gandhi by Demi

Arabs in the Golden Age by Mokhtar Moktefi 

Genghis Kahn by Demi 

Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Horde by Harold Lamb

Africa: 

Africa is not a Country  by Margy Burns Knight

Seven Wonders of Ancient Africa by Michael Woods

Journey to Jo'burg: A South African Story by Beverly Naidoo

Africa (True Books) by Mel Freidman

Australia:

Australia and Oceania (True Books) by Mel Friedman

Faces: Australia Through Time by Carolyn Yoder

Australia: The People by Erinn Banting

Antarctica:

Antarctica (True Books) by Mel Freidman 

Escape from Disaster by Peter Larangis

Animals Robert Scott Saw: An Adventure in Antarctica 

All for today. What's your favorite way of saving money on books?

Decided. I think.

I finally decided on next year's curriculum and am getting orders placed today. I am broadcasting it to the world here, not to brag  or seek approval, but just to ward off the cold-feet second-guessing feeling that sneaks up on me just before I press the "submit" button. Do you get that too? I hope not. I hope you are more secure than I about curriculum decisions! Switching to Math U See is a big step for us - to focus on mastery rather than a wider variety of skills. I am hoping to move the girls through at a quicker pace.

Here it is (please forgive me for not providing links):

The three-year-old

• Shirley's Crafts
• Preschool Activity Bags
• My Circle Time Plans
• a plethora of educational toys/activities collected over the years
• a shelf full of books my older kids loved  at her age

Second Grade - MODG except for

• Math U See Beta
• NOEO Chemistry I
• Catholic Lapbooks for FHC prep
• Explode the Code 4-6
• cursive from Memoria Press

Third Grade - MODG except for

• Math U See Beta (lots of review here)
• cursive from Memoria Press
• IEW Writing
• Phonetic Zoo Spelling
• Voyages in English 3

Fifth Grade - MODG except for

• Math U See Gamma (mostly review)
• Memoria Press copy book
• IEW Writing
• Phonetic Zoo Spelling
• Voyages in English 5 or Level 4 Daily Grams
• possibly supplementing world geography with around the world fiction and non-fiction from Sonlight Core 5

All

• Artistic Pursuits
• Usborne Drawing
• Rosetta Stone French
• piano lessons

Literature

• from MOGD lists
• Catholic Mosaic and my Circle Time plans for 'round the year picture books
• some Memoria Press Literature Guides for a few of our read-a-louds

Also

• continue Voss Story Bible on Mondays
• read about Art and Artists on Tuesdays
• read from the Book of Virtues on Thursdays
• Fairy Tales on Fridays

There, it's done. Now for the extra-curricular choices . . .

Prep Time

I had good intentions of saving next year's home school shopping until July. That is, until I remembered the good deals on used books available at the Catholic home school conference coming up this weekend! So, lists were copied, needed titles highlighted and now I hope to find the bulk of my fiction and living history books this weekend.

What else besides looking forward to the excellent talks?

I plan to check out the Institute for Excellence in Writing's spelling program, hear the shpeel about Math U See and consider a switch, check out Total Language Plus on a recommendation and sign up for a year of Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts. I've been meaning to blog about those craft kits - no perks involved here, just want to spread the word!

Each box has everything needed for twelve crafts that focus on the color of the month, shape of the month, country of the month, holiday, etc. They are available individually or as a 3 month or 9 month subscription. Twice now I have won a box as a door prize at our home school mom's meeting and the Little Princess has been excited about the projects each and every time!

Here are some pics:

the opened box

the instruction sheet

Absolutely everything but crayons and scissors are included.

At this point in time they are too difficult for my just-turned-three-year-old to do by herself, but any of her siblings love to help her. And I do mean LOVE to help her. Maybe the September she will be more ready to master scissors and glue! Right now she would rather run around with a string for the cat to chase. Anyway, I am thinking that these craft kits, activities from Slow and Steady Get Me Ready and the Preschool Activity Bags will be a good fit for her. When she is four we will start the Alphabet Path and Before Five in a Row.

One more conference thing - one talk I would attend if I had not already heard it twice is Nancy Bjorkman's Meal Management in an Age of Fast Food. I used everything I learned from her to put over two month's worth of meals in the freezer that we are still enjoying. This has made for the easiest babymoon ever! Dinner time has been a cinch and I am planning some Saturdays in August to get more meals in the freezer for school nights.

Do You Lapbook?

My kids love making Lapbooks. Not that we do them that often, but when we were in Five in a Row mode we did a few and I have been feeling guilty about not doing them ever since.

The perfect opportunity to resume came along recently. We have been trucking through the MODG religion for 2nd grade and I have been wondering where the First Communion prep was. Then I realized that most of that info is covered in the MODG 1st grade curriculum which we missed, having started MODG just this year. To catch her up quickly I ordered some Catholic Lapbooks from Lindy Meyer's website: lapbooksforcatholics.com.

When you order the Faith Folders you receive a pdf file by email or you may choose to purchase a CD-rom. From there you can choose the pages you want to print; pages are available in color or black & white, all the info printed or lines for your student to fill in. There is also a diagram showing where to glue everything so it fits and photos of completed examples.

I ordered the Confession and Holy Eucharist books for my 2nd grader and the Ten Commandments for my 1st grader. There are seventeen from which to choose, including the Seven Sacraments, Eight Beatitudes, Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit, Spiritual & Corporal Works of Mercy, The Rosary, etc.

Here are photos of the Confession book completed by Sunshine:

Lapbooks for Catholics is celebrating their 2nd anniversary. They are looking for suggestions for Saint Faith Folders so stop by and take a look - my kids think this is the "funnest" thing they have done all year. They like creative expression - even if it just involves scissors and glue!

"One Step at a Time"

Here I am bigger than big and readier than ready to have this baby, but I have yet to go into labor. I can only deduce that God must have wanted me to be there last night to see the girls perform.

The MusikGarten class began the show with a few songs using egg shakers and scarves. Pipsqueak's debut on stage went off without a hitch. She actually seemed quite comfortable on stage -

Psalty's Camping Adventure is a musical featuring a big blue singing songbook/camp director who teaches the kids lessons in life about climbing their mountains (real and personal)  "one step at a time".

We were so proud of the girls for delivering their lines and singing solos nice and loud in spite of sound system difficulties.

I am also proud of my husband who took them to the last dress rehearsal Friday morning while I went to my doctor appointment (hopefully the last!). He tried taking photos in dim light with Dino and Pipsqueak hanging on him so most of the shots turned out blurry.

Sunshine played the part of Susie, the girl who gets poison ivy and is "Itchy, itchy, itchy!"

Just a week or so a go we realized that she though her line in the scripture-verse-for-each-letter-of-the-alphabet song was "Simon heard and was black!" instead of "Zion heard and was glad!"

Their amazingly talented and experienced director put this show together in just ten weeks. All the children in this production are homeschooled. It was a fantastic opportunity for so many talented kids.

Getting songs from musicals stuck in your head can be annoying, but this time was actually helpful as we have really been taking one day at a time. Every night this I week I have tucked the children into bed explaining what the next day would be like if I was still pregnant and what would happen if I was not.

I was touched that some moms I know and even others I don't know came up and told me they had been praying for me and the baby. Maybe they understand the stress of having a due date and a performance so close together. Maybe they just hoped my water didn't break in the middle of dress rehearsal!

Having so many friends and family members come to their performance was another big highlight of the evening. The B.'s came, my in-laws, and my husband's grandma had just been picked up by Aunt Pat from the airport earlier that day, having decided to return early from wintering in Texas. They came to the show so my in-laws could give her a ride home. Hmm, now why didn't we get a photo of Grandma? Apologies to my in-laws who read this. I must have been distracted by my swollen feet.

We came home and enjoyed some ice cream, even though it was a Friday in Lent. The kids went to bed as excited as if it were Christmas. Today we have one more event to attend - the girls play on stage at Orchestra Hall and receive a trophy for completing the first level of the Suzuki program. It's almost 7am and I am not in labor yet, so maybe God wants us to make it there today?

Math Review Day

Thank the Lord I have a neighbor who has years of experience as an upper elementary school teacher. She generously answered my S.O.S. call about long division. With her help I might have hit on a few activities to help my struggling pupil.

Going further than the "D.M.S. Loop" (divide, multiply, subtract) that Saxon suggests, she advised the "D.M.S.B. Loop" (daddy-divide, mommy-multiply, sister-subtract, brother-bring down).

Today we took out three dice and a white board. She rolled the dice to generate a three digit quotient and rolled one dice for the divisor. I wrote "D.M.S.B." on the side and coached her through several problems and insisted she check her answer by multiplying. It was a little more fun than pencil and paper. She's still not thrilled as you can tell by the look on her face.

See her mistake? She brought down the 6 instead of the 4.

Before this we reviewed multiplication and division facts using Times Tales. This flip book uses stories and images as a mnemonic device to help kids remember the 6-9's in particular. We did all of this a year ago, but apparently she needed a review. In spite of the 100 fact daily speed tests in the Saxon program.

Another area in which she needs improvement is elapsed time. While we made lunch we took two teaching clocks for a little activity. She set a time on one and I set a time on the other. We took turns making up stories about what happened from one time to the next. She moved the hands of the clock with the earlier time to match the second clock with the later time, keeping careful track of the hours, then the minutes. I thought she was using these clocks during her daily lessons, but apparently not.

Next week: if she gets an 80% or better on all of her math lessons she earns a head gear-free Friday and a coffee shop date with mom!

Top Ten Sanity Savers

At least for this week. It's a real nose to the grindstone week for us. More about that later. 

Here it goes . . .

10. Creating something beautiful with my hands. I needed this therapy. It's even better when the materials you work with smell as good as real beeswax.

 

9. Finally something to help her understand numbers through the millions.

8. I still marvel that my phone gets charged as we listen to Pandora during school time.

7. My new revolving desk carousel holds everything: scissors, glue, tape, highlighters, tape recorder, date stamp, flashcards, teaching clock, stapler, hole punch, protractor, post-its, dice, lip balm, fingernail clipper, pencil sharpeners. Everything. Keeps me from hunting through my desk every five minutes. I love this thing. So does Pipsqueak. 

6. Setting a timer for 4th grader for each subject to help stay on schedule. Rewards for finishing before the timer beeps. Timer tucked into coat pocket so they know when to come in after recess unless they are crawling through snow tunnels and the wrong buttons get pushed. If they didn't cost $10-$15 each I would buy ten of them!

5. Schedules for each child. Laminated. Doubles as a place mat!

4. Tip from homeschooling seminar - keeping your hands busy while monitoring potentially frustrating sessions such as math lessons and piano practice really helps you keep your cool. The presenter got this idea from pondering how long it took Jesus to fashion a whip before driving the merchants out of the temple.

3. Violin is now from 4:00 - 5:00 twice a week = more crock pot meals.

2. Need I explain?

Drum roll please ..............................................................................

1. DADDY'S HOME!!!

How to Resume

The Non-Paper MACHE I received today included a Timely Tip seemingly written just for me:

19. Timely Tip

Get up at a reasonable time each morning.

 

Years ago I asked Linda Greene to speak about "getting back in the saddle" after Christmas.  Resuming life as homeschoolers after all the celebrating and erratic schedules of the holidays can be a challenge.  Her first and foremost point was simply: "Get up!" 

 

I was shocked, but after consideration I realized how wise and realistic her challenge was.  Homeschooling offers the wonderful bonus of being able to be flexible.  However, we should never use this freedom as an excuse to be lazy.  Proverbs 24:30-34 has very stern warnings about slothfulness.

 

I would like to suggest that in order to be ready to start the day, mothers need to plan to be up at least an hour to an hour and a half before their children in order to have time for private prayer, reading, and meditation; to get dressed; to start breakfast preparations; and to get a crock pot begun for the main meal of the day (or something else well in mind).  In order to get this head start, we mothers need to make sure we are getting to bed early enough the night before. [To be completely honest, this was a very hard standard for me to personally accomplish but worth trying to achieve.]

 

Simply getting up each day can be especially challenging during these days in the middle of winter, but how very important!  We need to get up in order to get everything done, and our children need to learn to keep a regular schedule in order to function someday as responsible adults.

This week we are having "fun school" which means that regular seatwork is replaced with writing thank you notes and enjoying all the crafts and games received as gifts. Meal time, Circle Time, reading times and music practice times remain the same. I did craft a new daily schedule with real times to stick to and I think this week will provide some great practice at actually sticking to it. So far so good!

I do hope to catch up on blogging soon - I know certain relatives are eager to see Christmas pics. I was all set to post last week until we ran into some computer problems that my super duper husband got around to fixing late last night. No need to buy a new computer. Whew!

In the meantime I am enjoying reading everyone else's blog posts about their holidays!

Blessings for 2010!

FYI - Virtual Homeschooling

Our area homeschool store periodically sends out an email newsletter and the most recent news included this tidbit that I thought might be helpful to share:

5. Nancy's Notes - We have recently had a rash of parents visit the store for help after becoming disillusioned with "homeschooling". The problem was that they weren't really homeschooling - their children were enrolled in "virtual" (or K-12) at-home schooling programs. These government-funded, public school programs are just that - public school at home, not homeschooling in the true sense. While new homeschoolers may be looking for guidance and even free curriculum, this option offers them none of the freedoms they had envisioned as home educators. Several of the limitations created by these programs include:

• Government-selected curriculum vs. customized for your individual child
• Requirement to log attendance and hours in line with public attendance laws
• Requirement to submit samples of work to school authorities
• Oversight by a teacher, leaving the parent as the "learning coach" only
• Complete elimination of all faith-based material
• Inability to participate in any other public school activities at your local school
• Obligation to fulfill state testing and grad standards requirements
• Inability to study subjects as a family as all subjects are grade specific

All of this results in much longer school days vs. true homeschooling. We encourage anyone considering enrolling in a virtual at-home program to first explore the other options and support available. When considering your true goals in bringing your children home, we believe that you will not be satisfied by the reality of what public education at home has to offer. You really can do this without government oversight, and we're here to help!

I know some families use the public school homeschooling program and are happy with it, yet this store obviously has seen some dissatisfied parents and a video I saw at the MACHE conference put out by the HSLDA compared this government effort to a Trojan horse, aimed at growing more invasive over time. What is your experience?

Progress Report - Dancer

Now that we are back to our full schedule this week I have more time to continue my self-imposed evaluation of the new school year. This is the time when we homeschoolers decide what to ditch and what to stick with, right? Tell me I'm not the only one . . .

I chose Mother of Divine Grace because I felt ready to try a pre-planned curriculum again and would really like a program we can stick with through high school. I also wanted to free up some brain space and free up my evenings that I used to spend planning and researching on the computer. I have certainly needed extra sleep the last four months, so I think this was a good choice!

I am mostly happy with our choice. Right now we are liking about half the subjects in the 4th grade MODG curriculum and are assessing the need to switch books in other subjects. The subjects that are working well for us are religion, poetry, history, science, drawing and Latin. The subjects I have qualms about are math, spelling, phonics and geography.

Back to Dancer. If you have gleaned anything about her from my blog you probably know that she loves ballet (even though she is not currently enrolled), is coming along well on the violin and is my sweet, melancholic deep-thinker and feeler. She is developing a sweet gentle nature after a bout with an eldest sister "bossy boiler" phase. She picks up a lot from me when it comes to emotional reactions and anger, unfortunately. Our personalities are so much alike that that we often clash, but over time we seem to becoming closer and more understanding of one another. Dancer is the one who loves to cuddle in bed the longest in the morning and the longest at night. She loves one-on-one time with mom or dad and is learning to graciously but slowly put some ways of childhood behind her such as jealousy and envy. Lately she has been a stellar big sister to Sunshine and Dino, even designing a reward chart for them. Last night I overheard her say, "Play Memory with me and you get one mark. If you win you get two marks. When you get ten marks we will do the pinata!" Evidently she made a pinata out of a shoebox and extra Halloween candy. Unbeknownst to me!

As for school - here are the subjects that are going well ~

Religion: This would include Baltimore Catechism memorization, Bible stories followed by narration and copy work, and lives of the saints. This is all going well. As I have said before, I am amazed at how much a child can memorize in just five minutes a day. Even though the children are already familiar with most of the content, memorization solidifies their understanding and gives them words to use in family discussions. Hopefully this will be a great foundation for apologetics later in life. I am excited to facilitate this treasure, being of a CCD generation that received a much lighter religious education.

Poetry: Although poetry memorization is not new to her (I was inspired some years ago by someone's daughter's recitation of The Lamplighter) we are duly impressed that she was able to memorize a six stanza poem in seven weeks. I do include copy work as part of the memorization process, rather than waiting until the end to write the poem in her blank book. There are only five poems total to memorize in 4th grade MODG from The Harp and Laurel Wreath, but some are quite lengthy.

Science: In the past we have used Sonlight Science and Noeo, as well as plenty of Magic School Bus and various nature books. MODG recommends ABeka's Understanding God's World. This is going better than I expected. The content is familiar, but the level is deeper than we have dug in the past, with specific terminology and tests (gasp!). She has to get a little more used to remembering the content of what she read and being accountable for knowing it rather than just enjoying it and letting it wash over her. The units include insects, plants, birds, matter, energy, geology and astronomy with experiments throughout. Bird study runs throughout the book and students are asked to draw birds in their nature notebook. I like that the student gets a variety of subjects throughout the year, rather than one subject all year long like the Apologia books that I am tempted to buy and feel a little guilty for not using. I could always splurge on those books to supplement, right? We are supplementing with A Beka's Health, Safety and Manners book. I might also buy a Christian Liberty Nature Reader since her sister enjoys hers so much.

History: This is Dancer's favorite subject. My heart is glad, because isn't history really THE subject? After considering Winter Promise and Sonlight and the Prairie Primer I settled in with MODG mostly for the history from a Catholic perspective. Texts include Our Pioneers and Patriots, The Catholic Faith Comes to the Americas and the Evangelization of the New World. In addition there are dozens of supplementary books, old and new. MODG 4th grade covers history from the Vikings through George Washington. Here is our collection thus far:

Also recommended - keeping a time line and adding writing exercises on what the student has read.

Latin: MODG students would be in Latina Christina 1 by 4th grade if they had completed Prima Latina in 3rd. Dancer did half of Prima Latina two years ago and remembers nothing so we are reviewing this book. I remember that she hated filling out the workbook at such a young age (what was I thinking?) and I think she is dreading filling out the other half. She seems to retain more now. I am also supplementing with English From the Roots Up since she would have done that in MODG 3rd grade. There might be better programs out there, but for now I think this is going well and a vital (Latin, meaning fundamentally concerned with or affecting life or living beings) component to a well rounded education. (where are the smiley faces on Typepad?)

Art: MODG recommends The Drawing Textbook, various Dover art postcards and Mommy, It's a Renoir. Looks like she will do the drawing book only through week 8 and then move on to the schools of art. I think this will be fine, although I might add exercises inviting her to copy the art from the postcards. We also supplement with Draw Write Now, various drawing books, crafts and projects from the Art Explorers Series. For next year I am looking at adding Artistic Pursuits.

 

Subjects with which we are struggling to get used to:

Math: Who doesn't have qualms with math? Ok, ok a few of you don't and have programs you happily use year after year. What are they? We started with Horizons, which was fine, even though math has never been Dancer's favorite subject. Then I became intrigued with Singapore which we used until the multiplication became overwhelming and we had to stop and spend time memorizing rather than just understanding the concept. MODG recommends Saxon 5/4 in 4th grade so I was willing to give it a try. I think it is good for her, actually. I think she needs the speed drills of basic addition and subtraction (100 problems in five minutes) to get these facts down cold and fast. She is able to read and understand the lessons on her own. The daily lessons provide plenty of review (which Singapore did not). The problems? One is the time - it takes her an hour or more to complete her daily math. Another is that the text is all black and white and she misses color graphics. The other is that she scores well on the tests but makes sloppy errors on the daily assignments. I think we sill stick it out for this year, perhaps making some adjustments and trying to make it more fun for her (like saving math until dad comes home!) For next year, though, I will take a second look at Math-U-See or Teaching Textbooks.

Spelling and Phonics: MODG recommends The Writing Road to Reading and Starting a Spelling Notebook. The first part of this program reviews phonograms, which was a worthwhile review, but would have been a lot easier with ready-made flash cards. Many of the directions in the syllabus I find confusing and tedious. I am perplexed as to why they want students to learn the "Spalding marking system" the same week as the language arts book has a lesson on the pronunciation markings found in dictionaries. We have finally come to the point of taking a diagnotic test for a starting place in the Ayer's word list. I hope this program will work for the rest of this year. I am looking into MegaWords or A Reason for Spelling as a plan B. Advice here is welcome.

English/Language Arts: The text here is Intermediate Language Lessons. This is an old-fashioned looking Charlotte Mason style book that includes a rotation of copying, dictation, memory, observation, conversation, language usage, narration and creative writing. I think it's the rotation part that seems haphazard to me and the level of language usage could be more rigorous. I know many believe that grammar can wait even longer but I think this particular child is capable of more. I may supplement with more writing assignments because she is such an excellent story teller, but a reluctant writer. Letters to her pen-pal may become fodder for learning - perhaps a first draft that is corrected before it is copied onto stationery. Next year I am looking at Voyages in English or Winston Grammar as well as Karen Andreola's Story Starters. Advice here is welcome too!

Geography: As I mentioned in Sunshine's report, there are more creative ways to learn geography than just flash cards. Flash cards do serve a purpose, but we are using them to copy the information into a United States blank book. She copies the information and draws the state. I print out the state flags from Enchanted Learning as well as a fill-in-the-blank page about the state. I copied a page of state birds and flowers from the ABeka science book for her to cut and paste. We also enjoy state puzzles, Sequence, a states and capitals CD and a license plate sticker book. All together we are reading the Holling C. Holling geography books and Sunshine is completing the map activities. We like these online games , collecting quarters, state and capital wraps (like Math Wraps) and States and Capitals Sequence. We are also checking out the state books from Sleeping Bear Press from the library. Under consideration for next year is: A Child's Geography.

Music: We do not follow the MODG syllabus for music since we take piano and violin. I am trying to get back to a composer of the month. This month I had meant to do Handel by listening to the Music Master's CD and reading the book by Zeezok publishing but we didn't get to it.

Some non MODG subjects -

Literature: Here are photos of Dancer's reading choices for the next year (or two!). We used the Pizza Hut reading program coupons for the first time in October and enjoyed a family dinner out. She has a little less time to read literature with all the history reading, but I think she will figure out a way to make time. Keeping in mind for the future - the Sunflower Basket.

Foreign Language: I will copy and paste the same thing I wrote for Sunshine: We added French to our curriculum after purchasing Rosetta Stone at a homeschool conference. Dancer does this about twice a week. She doesn't seem to mind it, but she is still repeating lesson one until she can score better than 48% or whatever her average score has been. I also don't hear her using any French vocabulary around the house. I am wondering if we should have gotten something more child friendly like Muzzy?

I think we are at least 75% pleased with MODG. Please do keep in mind that I just ordered the materials without enrolling. I am sure I would receive sound advice for working out the program to suit our family if I had enrolled. I might do that next year, or I might just use MODG for the subjects that work for us and choose other programs for the rest.

Progress Report - Sunshine

My little Sunshine girl is turning into a big girl before my eyes. Now that her two front teeth have been lost and replaced with the adult version she looks so totally different to me. She acts totally different too!

First day of school age 6 ~

First day of school age 7 ~

It's that "seven year change" I guess. She has always been so sanguine, eager to please and overly cooperative. Now she tests the limits constantly, over-reacts to get her way and charges ahead with her own will when she thinks she is justified. What a big personality for such a little girl. What an awesome responsibility is is to form her character and train her in virtue!

Really though, she is still the same sweet life of the party she has always been. She is generous to a fault and will do almost anything to cheer anyone up. She is Wild Strawberry's #1 pal - she is SO GOOD to her I am amazed almost every day with how nice she is to her sister. One morning she dressed her as a princess and sat her on pillows -

On our trip to Oklahoma she volunteered for the job of writing down six pages of the words to all of Wild Strawberry's songs:

"O Daddy-O, bo-dee-bo-dee, narnia, narnia, O Mommy-O, shh, shh, mom . . . "

She loves her older sister and brother too. They vie for her attention and playtime. These sisters will be BFF.

Sometime last spring, eyeglasses became a new addition to her looks. We were thrilled that her eyes got the help they needed and we all think she looks super cute in her purple frames, but our Sunshine is less than thrilled. She thinks that people are afraid to be her friend when she wears them. Encouraging her to wear her glasses has become a daily battle as you can tell from this photo -

 

This too shall pass, right?

In spite of having to wear glasses I think she is enjoying her MODG school work for 2nd grade. It is perhaps a little less work than I had her doing last year, but I think she enjoys the extra time it affords for playing because of course, if you ask her, she never has time to play!

Here are the core books:

And here are books with which I supplement when it seems she needs a bit more to do:

Math: The A Beka 2nd grade math is all review for her so far. I often wonder if we should have continued with Singapore, but I do like the review a spiral curriculum provides. We are also supposed to be doing Math-It, but I like other math games better.

Science: This is all review for her too. Kind of boring, but maybe I will go back to something more exciting next year. I almost went with Noeo Science again. I am intrigued by Apologia, but reluctant to commit to spending an entire year on one science topic. This year we will supplement with nature readers, the Nature Friend magazine, Magic School Bus and A Beka's Health, Safety and Manners book. Mental note: I should look to see if there is a set of Bill Nye the Science Guy DVDs.

Phonics: The first part of Sound Beginnings is a painful review of letter sounds for a girl who is already an avid reader. I have decided to quit and pick it up again on Week 8 when it might be a better use of time. In the meantime she still likes doing Explode the Code.

Poetry: This is going well, although I used to push the kids to memorize a poem a week. MODG allows a longer time - about a stanza a week. The syllabus doesn't say to, but I have her copy the poem into her blank book before illustrating. Here is a sample -

I love the R.L.S. version illustrated by Tasha Tudor, bty. We use this one for copying.

Handwriting: I made an oops here - she did the Picard Book 1 last year. She is doing it again, just for review. We are supplementing with the Getty & Dubay Level C because I like how it incorporates a little language arts as well.

Language Arts: I thought MODG used Primary Language Lessons for 2nd grade but I was mistaken. It is not required in this syllabus. I already bought it, though and am using it. I like the Charlotte Mason feel it has, but the concepts seem rather in a random order. I almost went with a 1950s book my MIL found at a garage sale because it looked more practical and moved along at a good clip with what 2nd graders should know. But I am willing to stick with the Serl book before considering something else such as Simply Grammar, CHC or Seton.

History: One reason MODG finally made sense to me is when I realized that how the children are eased into history. Instead of beginning with the ancients like some classical curriculum programs do, American history is the focus of the first several years beginning with the introduction to biographical figures. Sunshine seems to enjoy this approach already after reading some d'Aulaire books. I have added a blank book for her history as well, asking her to illustrate and write a few sentences, Draw Write Now style. In fact, DWN has a few pages on Christopher Columbus. Here is a page she did on Leif Ericson -

Geography: So far, MODG asks for flashcard review. How boring. I just think there are more creative ways to learn about the states. I am having her 4th grade sister do a states notebook, similar to what Jessica's kids do except that I am lazy about printing out so much so she is just drawing hers by hand. For Sunshine, though, we are listening to this CD, doing a state maze book I found at the grocery store, puzzles, online games and collecting quarters. We are also checking out the state books from Sleeping Bear Press from the library.

Religion: Memorizing the Baltimore Catechism is new to us. I think it's pretty amazing that she can do it! I mean, my kids know more about the faith than I did for decades, but I am beginning to see the point in having answers memorized, especially when it comes time for high school apologetics. The classical method taps into a young child's ability to memorize and so far it is working well. The syllabus also asks the child to do saint reports. Not every week, but I am asking for them almost once a week. The little Saints and Friendly Beasts books give more info than the average saint book entry. I should get some more of these recent reprints too - In the Footsteps of the Saints series.

Here is an entry about St. Germaine -

Of course we are also trying to keep up with the liturgical year traditions and re-read the Catholic Mosaic books when the time comes. Sunshine will receive First Holy Communion this year so I had better look into doing a notebook like I've seen on other blogs.

Music: For MODG she is learning the recorder and Latin hymns. MODG recommends the Usborne book, but the music teacher in me prefers the Best in Class Method.

Art: MODG uses Mommy It's a Renoir, a tissue paper flowers kit and a crochet kit. These are great, but again, I feel the need to supplement. I love these Fine Art Primers, Come Look With Me and Lucy Micklethwait books. We also do projects from the Art Explorers Series.

Foreign Language: We added French to our curriculum after purchasing Rosetta Stone at a homeschool conference. Sunshine does this about twice a week. She doesn't seem to mind it, but she is still repeating lesson one until she can score better than 48% or whatever her average score has been. I also don't hear her using any French vocabulary around the house. I am wondering if we should have gotten something more child friendly like Muzzy?

Literature: In addition to our family read-a-louds (lots of Nesbit this year) Sunshine has a whole shelf from which to choose. I will have to remember to redeem our Pizza Hut reading program coupons!

 

In summary, MODG is working mostly well for us with generous supplementing. I love having everything planned out into bite-sized daily chunks and because I have needed hours of extra sleep this pregnancy I am quite glad to have a pre-planned syllabus. I simply cannot stay up late planning and printing things out like I used to!

In addition to school, Sunshine and the others are taking violin, piano and theater class. This might be the last year I can get all three children in the same activities since their talents and preferences are beginning to emerge. Sunshine does not want to continue with violin, but does have the admirable goal of wanting to complete Book 1 in Suzuki. She absolutely loves piano.

This theater class is right up her alley, with her naturally loud voice, dramatic flair and ability to entertain (they are doing a musical version of Daniel and the Lion's Den). Given the choice of a physical activity when violin ends for her, she chooses gymnastics. I think this will suit her. She is our most physical child and evidently has no fear of heights. Her grandpa calls her "part squirrel".

Three children down, one to go. This is like a self- imposed parent-teacher conference, isn't it? It is useful to me to evaluate each child; hope it helps you in some way too to see what works and doesn't work for one family. And if you want to help me out (and are still reading this long post) let me know a few things in case I modify MODG for future grades:

Have you used Sound Beginnings successfully?

What is your favorite, fun yet thorough math program?

What do you like for language arts, grammar and spelling for 2nd-4th grades?

Which science program have you enjoyed the most?

Is there something else out there better than Rosetta Stone to teach young children French?

Progress Report - Dino

This is Dino, our 6yo cutie-pie boy. Lover of dinosaurs and trains. Resistant and easily discouraged, but full of joy when achieving success or actually liking something new he tries. Full of questions and constantly asking how things work. Every day looking older and taller and more like a little young man. Even though he still has most of his baby teeth!

Being the third child, he has wanted to be somewhat involved in his sister's school time for the last four years. He has learned so much just from osmosis. This year he finally has his own official curriculum. His 1st grade MODG books look like this all laid out on my desk:

His daily work starts with math, followed by phonics, handwriting and religion, and poetry memorization. His blank books are starting to fill with illustrations of memorized poems and narrations of Aesop Fables. Mommy it's a Renoir is in there too - just not a daily subject.

So far this seems enough for him. Almost. On days when he seems up to more I add these and activities from ArtPac 1:

The main challenge I am still wading through is whether to have him complete his work right away when he is fresh or let him play with Wild Strawberry and keep her occupied while the girls begin. His work would take less than an hour without distractions, but takes two or three hours with everything else going on. If only I didn't need a nap after lunch I would sit down with him one-on-one and get it done without distractions. 

Another question I ponder is the difficulty level of 1st grade. Kids this age seem so bright and capable of so much more than a typical 1st grade curriculum offers. And yet, kids this age often  excel in some subjects but not others. For Dino, his handwriting seems right on track after completing two years of Handwriting Without Tears. His is right on track with reading, not having been an early reader like the girls.

It's the math that stumps me. He can tell me that 80 + 20 = 100. He figured out that if there are 8 rows and 8 columns on the chess board that there must be 64 squares all together. He loves helping my 4th grader with her math. In other words, he is way beyond the 3 + 2 problems in his math book but he doesn't want to skip ahead and doesn't seem to mind filling out the pages anyway. I don't think he is a math whiz or anything, I just think that most first graders are can do way more than first grade math books expect.

I think the lady at the local homeschool store would remind me why math books are written (for the masses, in public or private school) and how they are designed to fill up 180 days, to catch up the kids who are behind, to review, etc. This makes me tempted to skip math books with him until around 3rd grade, but know that there will be more concepts coming up in his math book that I might forget to cover if we didn't use one. So I will probably keep him on grade level with math, supplement with Games for Math and let him help Dancer when she needs it!

The other little struggle is that my Dino can focus better if he sits across from me at the Teacher's Help Desk but Wild Strawberry think he is invading her territory and throws a royal tantrum. Sometimes she is willing to share the chair  -

We aim to eat lunch by noon and I send the kids outside before or after lunch. Nap Time/Quiet Time is at 1:00 until I wake up and then he has some time to play before music practice. Here are a few things Dino enjoys in his spare time -

Looking through his favorite book -

Watching Dinosaur Train at 2:30 -

Learning to ride without training wheels!

Bear hunting  in the backyard (he finally likes exploring the backyard by himself)

Learning to read notes on piano:

He is tolerating his second year of violin better that the first and is having his first taste of participating in a theatrical production of Daniel and the Lions Den with his sisters and dozens of other home-schooled kids.

He also loves rocks, insects, constructing with K'Nex and Legos, domino run, marble run and playing with his sisters. He loves Wild Strawberry so much that he was in tears the other day as he accused Sunshine of stealing her away from him. Good thing we have another one coming!

Does that bring be to the guilt factor segment (otherwise known as Are We Meeting His Needs?) of this series of posts? I have to admit that I am a little bit worried that we will have another girl in April. Even the neighbors are concerned that he will be the lone boy sandwiched between two sets of girls. Not much I can do about it, though, is there? God will have to know best on this one. If we do have another girl he will have a lot of sisters to protect and torture.

What I do think about when I can't sleep at night are all of the activities I think he would enjoy if we had the time, money and energy to get him there.

• Cub Scouts
• Karate or Tae Kwon Do
• 4H
• an internationally acclaimed boy's choir in the area
• after-school Lego robotics classes through community ed
• more after school sports like soccer, basket ball or hockey

But then I think, he's only in first grade. Can these activities wait? Or will he be hopelessly behind in some sports unless he starts early? Personally, I would like to see each of the children narrow their interests to one musical activity and one physical sport.

I know parents hold wide opinions about outside activities. Some strongly believe in keeping their children home without the hustle and bustle of chauffeuring children around and exposing them to outside attitudes and language. Others believe the effort is worth it when they see their children blossom and develop their passions and talents.

For me, well, I have three other children to tow along, dinner to cook, enough $$$ being shelled out for our current music lessons and a bedtime to keep. Some of these activities go awfully late for little ones!

So, what do you do? Do you let each child pick one activity at a time? Do you require piano for a certain number of years? Do you try to get as many kids in the same activity as possible? Or do you encourage each child to have their own sport or instrument suited to their talents and interests? I would love to hear your replies!

*** I found out just today a little reason why it takes Dino so long to do such easy math lessons. He explained, "I like math the best and just want it to last longer!"

Progress Report - Wild Strawberry

Oh, this child.

One of these children is not like the others:

She is the first child of ours to:

• have blue eyes
• be a picky eater
• be picky about what clothes she wears
• throw full-fledged tantrums
• climb out of the crib
• like to help around the house
• be more willing to repeat Latin words than English words

And she is accomplishing some feats earlier than the others did such as:

• jumping down the stairs with two feet, step-by-step
• jumping down two or three stairs at a time
• climbing up to the top bunk and getting herself down
• dress herself
• undress herself (sometimes in public)

This one is equal parts delight and agony. Like the nursery rhyme about the little girl who had a little curl, "When she was good she was very, very good. When she was bad she was horrid!"

Out little Wild Strawberry thinks she is big like her siblings. She will not be left out. She even thinks she can read Bob books like her big brother! (every page sounds like "Da, da, bee, bee.")

She is behind in only two areas - weight and speech. Our 28 mo girl weighs in at 24 lbs. and uses only around 25 words, the most recent acquisition being, "No, mine!"

I can't really do much about her weight - she is offered all kinds of healthy food and chooses to eat or not. It's feast or famine with her. When served any milk but sweetened Almond Breeze she throws her cup across the kitchen. I do put extra butter on her toast.

The speech, though, should be coming along with so much language in the house. Or maybe she is overloaded by it all? Perhaps she became too dependent on baby sign language?

Worried mother that I am, I called for help. A team from the school district came over for a little play-date evaluation. Because her overall score included understanding and development, she does not qualify for services at this time. But they will check back at 2 1/2. In the meantime we are supposed to learn some visual cues to go with starting consonants when we speak to her. I'll have to study up during my "sofa time"!

During school time, however, we do try to keep her happily occupied. What seems to work best is to have Dino (6yo) play with her as much as possible in the morning. His work is easily accomplished in under an hour so I have learned to let him do it later in the day.

Our front closet used to hold board games. Now it is home to this:

Five storage tubs of toddler toys to rotate on school days. Here's a sampling of their contents:

Around the school room she has her own stack of paper and crayons as well as a BIG floor pad:

I picked up these Kumon books for half-price at Target remembering how much Dino enjoyed them at age 2:

I used to try to keep up with the activities in Slow and Steady Get Me Ready but have fallen way behind. As much as possible I try to include messier activities like painting and play-dough. We have big tubs, one with rice, the other with beans, for her to play in (and the older kids make a bigger mess with this than she does!). With supervision she loves Montessori type works such as  using a dropper to transfer colored water from one glass to another. But here's only so much messy stuff I can let her do while schooling the others. 

Enter in: The Guilt Factor.

Do you get this too? I look through our local ECFE and Parks & Rec course offerings as think, "If only the kids were in school I could take her to Tumble Tots or Library Story Time or Musikgarten or Princess Party class . . . " After this line of thinking I have a pity party, "If only I had a relative or friend in my life who could pick her up and take her to these while the rest of us homeschool . . . "

It's a dangerous trajectory. Moms of many sometimes have to accept that some of these activities are for the privileged first or second child and are increasingly difficult with a bigger brood.

So I read something like Homegrown Kids and feel reassured that the best place for a young child is in the home. She is getting plenty of stimulation, socialization, regularity and love. And boy do we love her! She is wild and sweet and the life of the family. It is difficult for the children to remember what life was like before she came and we can't imagine our family without her!

Progress Report - Pregnancy

Since survival mode began several weeks ago I suddenly find my focus narrowed to the three things I feel I have to function well enough to do: feed myself and my family, cleaning and laundry routines and homeschooling. Cooking and eating has been difficult, but manageable. Cleaning is falling a bit behind - we are not starting the day early enough to get many chores done and still start school by 9:00. Homeschooling is definitely in session and we have completed the first three weeks of MODG. We are still struggling a bit to fit in both violin and piano practice four days a week and I hope this will get easier with time.

By about 5:00 when I am making dinner I find myself utterly exhausted and out of gas. I do try to eat something with protein in the afternoon but by the time DH arrives I am ready to crash. I have to force myself to eat (even though I'm starving) and promptly plop on the sofa or take myself to bed. I won't burden you with TMI about my pregnancy related digestive issues but I will just day that without Zofran I am on the sofa all day barely able to function but with Zofran I suffer an unpleasant side effect requiring a battery of OTCs.

Anyway.

Then there are the nights. The 2yo often cries out in the night, "Mommy-O! Daddy-O!" Then there are night like tonight when I am wakened by sirens going down the county road, followed by "Mommy-O! Daddy-O!", topped off by hunger pangs, a desire for a bowl of granola and a temptation to get up in the quiet of the night and blog. So here I am.

All this late-night wakefulness also lends itself to reflection on my part of the children and how the year is starting out for each of them. In my next few posts I plan to highlight each child and what they are up to. 

So stay tuned in. I'm not up to much these days, but can still blog about what God is helping me to accomplish even in the midst of mild suffering.

Discount!

Didax is offering a 20% off back to school special. The promo code is "BTS2009"

The Didax catalog is full of hands-on learning manipulatives for math and language. I especially like their reading puzzles that can be purchased separately or as a set. I just put in an order to complete our set!

A Slow and Steady Start

This time of year I always marvel in fear and trembling at just how in the world we will have time to "do school" again. It seems that by the end of the summer it takes all day just to accomplish house cleaning, meal making and still have some time outdoors. But somehow, every year for the past three years we managed to start school and we still have time to get the house cleaning and meal making done. Mostly.

Just as we wound down school in June we wound up again this week in a similar style. My key to sanity is not to start them all on the same day. Monday was devoted to Dancer's Day 1, Tuesday to Sunshine and Wednesday to Dino. This worked amazingly well for us and it gave me time to read some prefaces and become more familiar with our new texts. I realized things such as -

• You don't write your answers in the Saxon 5/4 math book and that I needed to make 120 collated copies of three answer forms for a three-ring binder.
• After penciling lines in two blank books for copying poetry I realized that a line guide to place behind the page was provided.
• I still need to buy several pocket folders to hold the Mommy it's a Renoir art postcards. Things like that.

The children's art supplies seem to last for years (I buy Lyra colored pencils and beeswax crayons) so I didn't feel the need to prepare the every-so-cute German Schultuete cones. We do have a tradition of giving the children a new picture book wrapped in a silk scarf and that went over well again this year.

Dancer, who loves anything Arctic/Antarctic received:

Sunshine, who endlessly asks about large numbers was intrigued by:

And Dino who loves books with cut-aways of insect tunnels was overjoyed with:

Even Wild Strawberry received books!

We also do a First Day of School photo on the porch:

Gotta get the toddler too! She won't be left out of anything these days!

After each child completed this Back-to-School book from Enchanted Learning we felt that we were officially back-to-school!

Today we "did school" with all three children, all completing Day 2 and it went amazingly well. Dino played with Wild Strawberry while I worked with the girls. When my 2nd grader finished she switched with her brother and we had all the seatwork done by lunch. Sweet!

Now for handwork, Rosetta Stone French and violin practice - the day is not over yet!

*** I forgot one thing - we eat these cookies on the first day of school too!

How to Quit the Homeschooling Habit

Step One: Decide that you all need a summer break, even if unfinished workbook pages remain in math, handwriting and Explode the Code.

Step Two: Call the babysitter who is now available during the day. Ask her if she is available in, like, 30 minutes to come over while the baby naps.

Step Three: Take the school-aged kids out for ice cream.

Step Four: Go somewhere fun. My kids like this place along the highway with playhouses and gazebos. We went there last year too, so now it qualifies as a Last Day of School Tradition.

We calculated that each child would need to save $2000 and pool their money for one of these  -

Actually, this one met all their criteria: porch, porch swing and an inside loft We can always dream. I told them that if we ever won the lottery they could jump on the bed and then come  here to buy a play house.

Good-bye to 3rd, 1st and kindergarten! Hello to 4th, 2nd and 1st grade!

Coming Events . . .

At Heppner's Legacy

Tuesday, June 16th - Credits Before College (~ 2½ hour workshop)

Cheri Frame (Be sure to check out Cheri's Bio on her website www.CreditsBeforeCollege.com)
Non-refundable registration fee: $35.00 (includes same-night $5 store credit plus an extensive Resource Packet)
Are you resigned to the fact that attending college is expensive?  Most of us hope for the best: scholarships and financial aid, yet try to prepare for the worst: how to repay huge student loans.  There is another way.  Since many introductory college courses are a repeat of those studied in high school, your student can earn college credits for those courses while in high school--and you can cut your college costs in half!
This workshop includes:
Thinking outside of the box--options to consider
Credit by Exam--a very inexpensive and efficient way to achieve college credit through testing programs such as CLEP and Dante
Middle/High school--how to combine earning college credits with your homeschool courses.
Scheduling and studying for exams--effective techniques and free resources including free exams.
PSEO and the MN Transfer Curriculum--combine these options with CBE and open up many more future options.
The Gap Years: Graduating early. . . now what?
Regional Accreditation --How to "bank" and transfer credits to the college of your choice.
Setting a course--earn a year of credits before 11th grade, or simply save hundreds of dollars by passing just one exam--and where to begin.
Degree for $6,000--take the independent-study approach all the way through and have a college diploma in hand by age 18!

Tuesday, July 21st - Where Do I Begin?; A workshop for new & potential homeschoolers

• Nancy Bjorkman
  Non-refundable registration fee: $10.00 (includes same-night $5 store credit)

  Considering homeschooling? Not sure where to begin? This workshop will help define several different learning and teaching styles found in homeschooling families. We will then explore resources and curriculum to fit your family’s particular style. We’ll cover some common roadblocks and misconceptions about "what school should look like" and also discuss many of the stages that homeschool families experience as they walk through the years. There will be a time for interaction and questions.

As seating is limited, pre-registration with a non-refundable reservation fee is required for each attendee on a first-come, first-served basis. Workshop attendees will be given a $5 credit toward any purchase made the evening of the workshop. All workshops will begin at promptly at 7:00 p.m. and will last 1½ - 2 hours (except as noted below). Call today to register! 763-241-HOME (4663)

MACHE in Numbers

So much time has passed since I attended the MACHE (Minnesota Association of Christian Home Educators) conference this year that I forget exactly what I intended to share about my experience. I do want to offer some report of my experience because I know some of you are curious and may give it a try one of these years.

First of all, it was HUGE

• attendees numbered 6,200 +
• over 86 workshops
• each workshop I attended must have been filled with 200 - 300 people
• over 100 exhibitors

Impressions of the workshops:

• most of the sessions I attended were worthwhile and I came away with a nugget or two
• most were at least as interesting as the description
• workshop handouts are available online

Purchased from these vendors:

• Rainbow Resources
• Rosetta Stone
• Lifetime Books
• A Beka
• My Father's World
• Corps of Rediscovery

Costs:

• $40 per couple, I think
• around $10 a day parking per car (my DH went half days so we payed double)
• meals (very little meatless on a Friday during Lent!)
• babysitting
• CDs of talks are $7.50 each
• enough water to stay hydrated and quell the cough I had that weekend

Convenience:

• no strollers or wheeled suitcases allowed (this was the policy of the RiverCentre) but . . .
  
• a free book check was offered (nice!)
• we forgot to check the hockey schedule! We had hoped to eat at Cossetta's Friday night before Stations but the hockey crowd was lined up out the door.

Baby Friendly?

• I love seeing so many babies in slings but iit must be awfully inconvenient to attend a conference with a baby and without a stroller that doubles as a shopping cart and diaper bag holder
• I heard that the nursing mom's room had one sofa to sit on and most moms had to sit on the floor to nurse
• at least one of the speakers I heard considers babies a blessing and has sixteen of her own

People Watching:

• all lengths of hair
• all lengths of hemlines
• lots of babies
• lots of pregnant mamas
• lots of home-sewn clothes
• lots of smiles and Christian joy in faces
• seemed very inclusive of a wide variety of Protestant denominations

 

Other neat ideas:

• a prayer team to pray for the conference, speakers, attendees
• a display board featuring seniors with photos and their future plans
• a program for high school students during the conference

Overall:

A worthwhile experience, though I must admit to feeling a little out of place as a Catholic Christian. Maybe I am too much of a sensitive melancholic, but I felt as though the organizers do not define Catholics as Christians. Maybe some do. Maybe some don't. One talk I attended contained anti-Catholic views of  the English reformation.

While I am thankful we have our own Catholic conference to attend I can't help thinking about how nice it would be to go to one big conference instead of two and for Catholics to be represented among the speakers and vendors. Maybe we could have our own little corner in the vendor area arranged in way as to not offend others with our statues, rosaries and icons?

Would I Go Again?

Perhaps, the next time it is in St. Paul. The 2010 conference will be in Rochester. I did enjoy seeing so many curriculum options, even if many were not viable (like I doubt I would ever use Bob Jones or Rod and Staff). Some programs I might use, for instance, I learned that Nature's Workshop sells experiment kits to go with the K-6 Apologia science should I ever choose to use that text. I was pleased with my finds - the pioneer craft kits at Corps of Rediscovery, the discount Rosetta Stone offered on three years of French and  books I had seen on the Ambleside list and in the Sonlight catalog. Personally, I wish I had attended this conference years ago when we were just beginning so I could have seen some other options like My Father's World and Sonlight.

What seems to me to missing at both MACHE and the MCHEC are Montessori vendors. My impression is that many homeschoolers draw on Montessori for the preschool years and beyond and I have always been puzzled as to why I have not seen Montessori materials at curriculum fairs.

Have you gone? What did you think? Anyone who attended please feel free to add your impressions to the combox.

Back from the Big Weekend

I wish I could say that I returned home from the MCHEC refreshed and rejuvenated. I do think that feeling will come and I will be glad I went but the experience ultimately taught me not to stay out so late on a Friday night!

Friday evening after the "dad's talk" we went out with some friends and talked until the the place closed down and asked us to leave! Can I even tell you how much fun it was to see this lovely couple without our darling children around and feel like a college student on a double date? The thing is - back in college I did not have a toddler as a 6 a.m. alarm clock! (we will have to try again for a Saturday breakfast, Teri - after a good night's sleep!)

Saturday I did my best on five hours of sleep and by the end of the day I had lost my appetite, felt nauseous, achy, covered in goose bumps and on the verge of falling asleep right there on the second row during a talk given by the loveliest of women. A generous friend offered her apple that helped stabilize me enough to make the hour drive home. After swallowing a scoop of Lauricidin and two Tylenol PM I went to bed and logged enough extra hours of sleep to make it back to St. Paul by 10 am the next morning for Mass. 

My small successes at the conference included gathering books from a  MODG 4th grade history  list and oodles of literature off the Ambleside list. I was bowled over with how helpful many of the used book vendors were, asking, "Can I help you with your list?" They knew what they had and where to find it. My friend Mary personally escorted me to her Usborne booth and helped me compile a short list of titles to order through her Ladyslipper.com portal.

Like I mentioned in a previous post, seeing friends old and new is the real highlight of the conference for me. Margaret's new wee one is too precious for words. Lucky for me she left her backpack at the Seton booth and I had to hold him for a few minutes while she went to retrieve it. The opportunity to see our little girl's Godparents was welcomed - her Godmother and I skipped the 1:00 talk to enjoy a heart-to-heart out on the sunshiny commons. People watching is also a joy there - just soaking in the witness of so many pregnant mamas and babies and supportive dads cheerfully hauling around stacks of books is way more edifying than people watching at, say, Wal-Mart or a shopping mall.

I am back to feeling well today, happily organizing my finds and trying to find time to catch up on grocery shopping and laundry before the soccer schedule takes over!

Fine Arts Fridays

Fridays for us are a day to catch up a bit - I take narrations of the week's FIAR book, finish FIAR note booking using these free print-outs, give Sunshine her spelling test, let Dancer do a typing tutor program on the computer, video the children reciting their poem of the week and play math games from Games for Math.

We also try to get in some art study. We are taking a bit of a break from composer and artist study after delving into so many on the Alphabet Path. Instead we have explored projects from Express Yourself (from the Art Explorers series). The format of the book features an artist and featured painting, offers observation ideas and questions, then offers one or two projects inspired by that work. The author provides a list of supplies, step-by-step instructions and several examples done by other children.

Today's work encouraging the use of lines and patterns is inspired by van Gogh

We just love these projects. Every time I am tempted to sign the children up for a home school art class I just think about using these books for now!