Justin doing math and bundled up in front of the little space heater
Reading with Jonathan (Ryan likes to join us). We are cuddled up on my big bed, which is where we do most of our reading.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Random pictures
I thought it would be fun to add random homeschooling pictures occasionally. These were from today.
Reading with Jonathan (Ryan likes to join us). We are cuddled up on my big bed, which is where we do most of our reading.
Reading with Jonathan (Ryan likes to join us). We are cuddled up on my big bed, which is where we do most of our reading.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Artwork - deer picture
I think art lessons would be fun, but on the other hand I think the best way to encourage art in children is to just let them be creative. And believe me, there have been some doozy creations around the house!
Awhile back, I purchased some art curriculum from the thrift store that looked fun, and will eventually go through it with the boys. But my favorite thing is to just pick up books from the library with really pretty artwork and let the boys sketch. It is just natural.
The latest find is a book called The Big Snow by Verta and Elmer Hader (written in 1948). The pictures are sketched. Some are black and white but others are colored. They are very beautiful
The way I usually "get them" to draw is to just show them the book and suggest that if they want, there are pretty pictures in there to copy.
I read the book to them last night at bedtime, and first thing Justin was up wanting to draw the pictures from the book. He drew the following picture this morning. It is a buck, a doe, a fawn, and a squirrel all in the snow. I thought it was really cute!
Awhile back, I purchased some art curriculum from the thrift store that looked fun, and will eventually go through it with the boys. But my favorite thing is to just pick up books from the library with really pretty artwork and let the boys sketch. It is just natural.
The latest find is a book called The Big Snow by Verta and Elmer Hader (written in 1948). The pictures are sketched. Some are black and white but others are colored. They are very beautiful
The way I usually "get them" to draw is to just show them the book and suggest that if they want, there are pretty pictures in there to copy.
I read the book to them last night at bedtime, and first thing Justin was up wanting to draw the pictures from the book. He drew the following picture this morning. It is a buck, a doe, a fawn, and a squirrel all in the snow. I thought it was really cute!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Schoolhouse Rock
I remember watching SchoolHouse Rock on Saturday mornings when I was little. The other day I found a Schoolhouse Rock multiplication video at the library, so I thought I would check it out since Justin is learning the tables. Obviously there would be some of the videos I wouldn't like (one had a boy sticking his tongue out at another kids, tacky music, etc), but I really like some of them.
I like this one... it made me smile :-)
I have heard Jonathan singing this one several times:
I like this one... it made me smile :-)
I have heard Jonathan singing this one several times:
Monday, December 1, 2008
Learning Through "Living Books"
According to Charlotte Mason, living books are usually written by one person who has a passion for the subject and writes in conversational or narrative style. The books pull you into the subject and involve your emotions, so it’s easy to remember the events and facts. Living books make the subject “come alive.” They can be contrasted to dry writing, like what is found in most encyclopedias or textbooks, which basically lists informational facts in summary form.
I am not opposed at all to textbooks because facts are important. But, on the other hand I PREFER living books (don't we all?). They are much, MUCH more interesting. And you can learn so much from them! So, for our family, we will read both living books and textbooks.
We are currently reading Mary of Plymouth :A Story of the Pilgrim Settlement by James Otis (written in 1910!).
Something sad that I think has happened over the course of time is the "dumbing down" of children's books. It is just assumed that a child will not understand a book unless it is written in the most simple of terms. That is not true! As I read this book, I ask the boys "what does that mean?". Most of the time they do, in fact, understand. I think the main reason they are able to discern vocabulary is because of the way it is used in the context of the sentence. I believe this is a great way to learn new vocabulary words (or old vocabulary words for that matter)!
If they do not understand, it is very easy to explain the meanings to them. However, it is not necessary most of the time.
Some of the vocabulary words from today:
quill
shallop
savage
oars
I think also that it goes the same way for reading the Bible. If I do not read to them straight from the Bible, how will they understand Biblical terminology as they grow and mature? I definitely do not want them to search out the newest versions available that have been watered down to entertain the reader. Of course I read Bible stories to them but I think reading straight from the Bible is necessary!
I am not opposed at all to textbooks because facts are important. But, on the other hand I PREFER living books (don't we all?). They are much, MUCH more interesting. And you can learn so much from them! So, for our family, we will read both living books and textbooks.
We are currently reading Mary of Plymouth :A Story of the Pilgrim Settlement by James Otis (written in 1910!).
Something sad that I think has happened over the course of time is the "dumbing down" of children's books. It is just assumed that a child will not understand a book unless it is written in the most simple of terms. That is not true! As I read this book, I ask the boys "what does that mean?". Most of the time they do, in fact, understand. I think the main reason they are able to discern vocabulary is because of the way it is used in the context of the sentence. I believe this is a great way to learn new vocabulary words (or old vocabulary words for that matter)!If they do not understand, it is very easy to explain the meanings to them. However, it is not necessary most of the time.
Some of the vocabulary words from today:
quill
shallop
savage
oars
I think also that it goes the same way for reading the Bible. If I do not read to them straight from the Bible, how will they understand Biblical terminology as they grow and mature? I definitely do not want them to search out the newest versions available that have been watered down to entertain the reader. Of course I read Bible stories to them but I think reading straight from the Bible is necessary!
Pictures... FINALLY!
Here are a few pictures of the giant crawl through ear that we made...
This part was only paper, but it was supported by giant castle blocks and chairs.
We made a big tunnel out of blocks (not pictured), and then on the other side are the inside parts.....
Jonathan is holding the cochlea. Justin is holding the ear drum. Ryan is holding the hammer, anvil, and stirrup (hard to see). The ropes represent vestibular & auditory nerves. The large tunnel represented the auditory canal.
This part was only paper, but it was supported by giant castle blocks and chairs.
We made a big tunnel out of blocks (not pictured), and then on the other side are the inside parts.....
Jonathan is holding the cochlea. Justin is holding the ear drum. Ryan is holding the hammer, anvil, and stirrup (hard to see). The ropes represent vestibular & auditory nerves. The large tunnel represented the auditory canal.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Learning about Outer Space
Today we read a book called I Wonder Why Stars Twinkle (and Other Questions about Space).
I got this book from the library so it has evolutionary point of views, but I think it is necessary to address these issues instead of avoiding them. I think it is important to know what other people believe, to look at it from a Biblical perspective, and then to conclude why we believe what we do and why others reject Intelligent Design/Creationism.
While reading the library book, we also looked at the book of Genesis to find out what the Bible says.
For example, why do the Sun and Moon exist? An evolutionist can say, "to give us light and darkness" but if they answer this question they must admit Intelligent Design. Random chance offers no reason for order.
But the Bible has all of the answers we need!
Genesis 1:16-18
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
We also enjoyed reading about all of the questions people ask about space and how it is for an astronaut who visits space.
We immensely enjoyed this YouTube video about eating in space. This was a real treat for the boys since they have never seen anything like this!
I got this book from the library so it has evolutionary point of views, but I think it is necessary to address these issues instead of avoiding them. I think it is important to know what other people believe, to look at it from a Biblical perspective, and then to conclude why we believe what we do and why others reject Intelligent Design/Creationism.
While reading the library book, we also looked at the book of Genesis to find out what the Bible says.
For example, why do the Sun and Moon exist? An evolutionist can say, "to give us light and darkness" but if they answer this question they must admit Intelligent Design. Random chance offers no reason for order.
But the Bible has all of the answers we need!
Genesis 1:16-18
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
We also enjoyed reading about all of the questions people ask about space and how it is for an astronaut who visits space.
We immensely enjoyed this YouTube video about eating in space. This was a real treat for the boys since they have never seen anything like this!
NASA DestinationTomorrow - DT17 - Eating In Space (2005)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Multiplication songs
I found this when I googled for multiplication songs:
One way of doing it although I am laughing at myself singing it.
One way of doing it although I am laughing at myself singing it.
Multiplication Songs
2’s
Sung to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
14, 16, 18, 20.
How I wonder what you are.
3’s
Sung to “This Land is Your Land”
3, 6, 9, 12,
This land is your land.
15, 18,
This land is my land.
21, 24,
From California,
27, 30.
To the New York Island.
4’s
Sung to “Old MacDonald”
4, 8, 12, 16,
Old MacDonald had a farm,
20, 24,
E, I, E, I, O.
28, 32,
And on his farm he had a dog,
36, 40.
E, I, E, I, O.
6’s
Sung to “Jingle Bells”
6, 12,
Jingle bells,
18,
Jingle bells,
24, 30,
Jingle all the way.
36, 42,
Oh what fun it is to ride,
48, 54,
In a one horse open sleigh...
60!
Hey!
7’s
Sung to “Happy Birthday”
7, 14, 21,
Happy birthday, to you.
28, 35,
Happy birthday, to you.
42, 49,
Happy birthday, Mom and Dad.
56, 63,
Happy birthday, to you!
and 70!
(And many more!)
8’s
Sung to “She’ll be Coming ‘Round the Mountain”
8, 16, 24, 32,
She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes,
40, 48, 56,
She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes,
64, 72,
She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain,
80 now we are done!
She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain,
(la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la)
(She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes!)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Update
We have been really busy so I have been a little slow updating over here. Routine seems to settle in and I have a hard time pulling myself away.
This update is basically a run down of what we have been doing.
Daily morning routine:
After that we switch. Jonathan goes to the kitchen table to do seat-work/papers while Justin comes to my bed to cuddle and go over his assignments, read, & do math and phonics drills.
For Justin we are doing a lot of drills for multiplication. I am also going through a really neat book I got for him from the library called Marvelous Multiplication: Games & Activities That Make Math Easy & Fun. He is thrilled with it.
Here are a few games we made have played to learn Math:
From the book :
*With "Can You Eat Just One?" & "Pair It Up" we used grouping(and eating) raisins
and pairing socks to learn times tables.
*Using Flashcards:
One day we played "golf". I used the flashcards and pretended they were "Rook" cards. He had to recite/answer them correctly to get points.
Yesterday while saying his drills, he used a car with batman sitting in it to go to the next level each time he said a number family. Frankly, he would never get very far if he were just sitting and drilling. He wiggles and jumps the whole time he drills and I think it actually helps him to concentrate (wiggling). It's amazing how much better he learns if he is allowed to move!
During all of this Ryan either joins us in the bed, plays with puzzles, colors, or builds blocks. If he wants (it's entirely up to him), I also invite him to the bed to read just to him or learn some type of preschool thing. Some days he is for that; other days he just wants to play.
Hopefully if there is time, the boys do their chores. This is something I am working to get better at. Some days we do this and other days I end up trying (the key word being trying) to do everything myself.
Justin does a lot of free-time reading after seat-work. My goal has been reached, in that he picks up larger (100-150 page) books and reads them without being told. His current choice is a biography about Abraham Lincoln. He told us last night that... back then, people got "milk fever". He went on to explain to us what milk fever was.
Thursdays look completely different than other days of the week. Since we are way ahead in Language arts (we do 2 lessons a day), we use that day to study extra electives (science, history, physical education, ministry, etc). We do study science & history during the week, but Thursdays we take more time for it and our historical time-line.
I hoping to start a music study in KONOS soon for Thursdays. It is very intense and you actually make instruments while you learn them, learn orchestral position, etc. I could learn a lot myself from this!
Well it has taken me forever to write this post in an organized way, so I will end for now.
This update is basically a run down of what we have been doing.
Daily morning routine:
- Prayer - looking at prayer list from church and any others we want to add
- Bible story from Arthur Maxwell's The Bible Story
- Verse (We just learned Isaiah 55:3)
- Review Character poem "Attentiveness"
- Read Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends (The other day we were in the library and Jonathan randomly told the librarian "I love my brothers". This fact, to me, is a big deal. It is something we are praying for openly with the boys) .
- Read excerpts from a Childcraft encyclopedia I got from the thrift store. Right now we are studying about doors and how different doors work. Jonathan said his favorite door would be a bed door. I can imagine them locking each other in one of those!
- If I remember, we exercise.
After that we switch. Jonathan goes to the kitchen table to do seat-work/papers while Justin comes to my bed to cuddle and go over his assignments, read, & do math and phonics drills.
For Justin we are doing a lot of drills for multiplication. I am also going through a really neat book I got for him from the library called Marvelous Multiplication: Games & Activities That Make Math Easy & Fun. He is thrilled with it.
Here are a few games we made have played to learn Math:
From the book :
*With "Can You Eat Just One?" & "Pair It Up" we used grouping(and eating) raisins
and pairing socks to learn times tables.
*Using Flashcards:
One day we played "golf". I used the flashcards and pretended they were "Rook" cards. He had to recite/answer them correctly to get points.
Yesterday while saying his drills, he used a car with batman sitting in it to go to the next level each time he said a number family. Frankly, he would never get very far if he were just sitting and drilling. He wiggles and jumps the whole time he drills and I think it actually helps him to concentrate (wiggling). It's amazing how much better he learns if he is allowed to move!
During all of this Ryan either joins us in the bed, plays with puzzles, colors, or builds blocks. If he wants (it's entirely up to him), I also invite him to the bed to read just to him or learn some type of preschool thing. Some days he is for that; other days he just wants to play.
Hopefully if there is time, the boys do their chores. This is something I am working to get better at. Some days we do this and other days I end up trying (the key word being trying) to do everything myself.
Justin does a lot of free-time reading after seat-work. My goal has been reached, in that he picks up larger (100-150 page) books and reads them without being told. His current choice is a biography about Abraham Lincoln. He told us last night that... back then, people got "milk fever". He went on to explain to us what milk fever was.
Thursdays look completely different than other days of the week. Since we are way ahead in Language arts (we do 2 lessons a day), we use that day to study extra electives (science, history, physical education, ministry, etc). We do study science & history during the week, but Thursdays we take more time for it and our historical time-line.
I hoping to start a music study in KONOS soon for Thursdays. It is very intense and you actually make instruments while you learn them, learn orchestral position, etc. I could learn a lot myself from this!
Well it has taken me forever to write this post in an organized way, so I will end for now.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Cheddar or Cheater
Yesterday the boys sneaked into the candy dish sometime during the day. I usually work with them one at a time while the other does chores, and then they switch up. I think the sneaking must have occurred by each while I was concentrating on schoolwork with the other.
I noticed very quickly during Jonathan's seatwork time that he was not concentrating and was being very hyper. So I checked the candy jar and it had an obvious "dent" in it! Yes, they both admitted. "I had five" Justin said. "I had 3", said Jonathan.
It always affects Jonathan the most.
I was telling Michael about it when he got home and during suppertime we had "Mexican meat cups". The bag of shredded cheese was sitting on the table and Jonathan was trying to read what the bag said. He said "chee-dar" (instead of cheddar). He then said, "What if God is making that bag point at me and say "cheater" since I didn't try to do my schoolwork today?".
After I composed myself and stopped laughing I assured him that it said "cheddar" and that "no, God isn't calling you a cheater because you were hyper".
I noticed very quickly during Jonathan's seatwork time that he was not concentrating and was being very hyper. So I checked the candy jar and it had an obvious "dent" in it! Yes, they both admitted. "I had five" Justin said. "I had 3", said Jonathan.
It always affects Jonathan the most.
I was telling Michael about it when he got home and during suppertime we had "Mexican meat cups". The bag of shredded cheese was sitting on the table and Jonathan was trying to read what the bag said. He said "chee-dar" (instead of cheddar). He then said, "What if God is making that bag point at me and say "cheater" since I didn't try to do my schoolwork today?".
After I composed myself and stopped laughing I assured him that it said "cheddar" and that "no, God isn't calling you a cheater because you were hyper".
Monday, October 27, 2008
Safety
Today we read a book called Safe at Home. It discusses fire safety in one section and general home safety in the other section. It is more interesting than just a regular text book because it is in story form. It is story about a family who made their apartment complex safer.
We also had a fire drill (which the boys enjoyed immensely!). The boys pretended to be in bed and then I pushed the smoke alarm. The first test was really funny because they ran through the house, but I made them do it again. I explained to them that we do not panic or run but that we walk quickly. We discussed our meeting place in the back yard.
We also reviewed different things you should do in different situations (Crawling on the floor, feeling the door to see if it is hot, breaking windows to get out if the door is jammed(or hot), fire prevention techniques, etc.)
Overall our fire safety study went well and the boys enjoyed it much more than I imagined that they would. We will continue to discuss more safety issues in the future and review what we have learned regularly to make sure they remember what to do.
We also had a fire drill (which the boys enjoyed immensely!). The boys pretended to be in bed and then I pushed the smoke alarm. The first test was really funny because they ran through the house, but I made them do it again. I explained to them that we do not panic or run but that we walk quickly. We discussed our meeting place in the back yard.
We also reviewed different things you should do in different situations (Crawling on the floor, feeling the door to see if it is hot, breaking windows to get out if the door is jammed(or hot), fire prevention techniques, etc.)
Overall our fire safety study went well and the boys enjoyed it much more than I imagined that they would. We will continue to discuss more safety issues in the future and review what we have learned regularly to make sure they remember what to do.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Homeschool P.E.
How in the world, do we as home-schoolers do Physical education?
Well, one thing we are teaching our children is how to live in the real world. Do most grown-ups play sports outside everyday? Well, no... of course not.
Do most grown ups have an early morning fitness routine? Probably not.
So, how do I teach my kiddos to have a good fitness routine?
By having an early morning fitness routine!!!
Get up. Eat & Groom. Devotions.
Exercise that includes the following:
1.Stretching
2.Sit ups
3.Push ups
4.Jumping Jacks
5.Leg lifts
6.Jogging, hopping, & skipping around the house. :-) This is great fun!
On sunny days, there is a back yard and a great park nearby.
On rainy days, sniffly-runny nose days (like today), or days when it is freezing:
How about a great game of Tupperware lid hockey???
This is where you take all the round Tupperware lids you can find (in my case some that do not go with anything) and try to hit them with a floor scrubber or broom.
The Tupperware lids must past under the chair legs.
Jonathan & Ryan , the goalies, are fearless when it comes to protecting their goal.
Justin is learning that a floor scrubber or broom makes a great hockey stick!
Well, one thing we are teaching our children is how to live in the real world. Do most grown-ups play sports outside everyday? Well, no... of course not.
Do most grown ups have an early morning fitness routine? Probably not.
So, how do I teach my kiddos to have a good fitness routine?
By having an early morning fitness routine!!!
Get up. Eat & Groom. Devotions.
Exercise that includes the following:
1.Stretching
2.Sit ups
3.Push ups
4.Jumping Jacks
5.Leg lifts
6.Jogging, hopping, & skipping around the house. :-) This is great fun!
On sunny days, there is a back yard and a great park nearby.
On rainy days, sniffly-runny nose days (like today), or days when it is freezing:
How about a great game of Tupperware lid hockey???
This is where you take all the round Tupperware lids you can find (in my case some that do not go with anything) and try to hit them with a floor scrubber or broom.
The Tupperware lids must past under the chair legs.
Jonathan & Ryan , the goalies, are fearless when it comes to protecting their goal.
Justin is learning that a floor scrubber or broom makes a great hockey stick!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Update:
We took 2 days off school this week just to have some breather time. I needed to catch up on some housework, and the boys enjoyed just playing and relaxing. SCCA is having their fall break this week too, except they are starting with half a day Wednesday and taking Thursday & Friday off. But I felt like we needed it at the beginning of the week, so we took it then.
Believe it or not, that little "break" was just what I needed. I woke up today ready for school to start back again! One of my favorite things about "doing school" is taking each child aside and cuddling him while we study "facts" together. I love seeing that light of understanding dawn on his face after I explain something. I love watching his profile as he reads. It is hard to explain, but it's something I wouldn't want to trade.
We are still studying the character trait "attentiveness" in the morning before we start seat-work and the 3 R's.
I know I am spending a lot of time on it, but I think it's important!
The other day, I did google search on the word "attentiveness", and I found a lot of interesting things. One website, called "Character First" had a definition page, a story page, an analogy page and then a poem. Interestingly, they used a deer for the analogy. I think it's pretty funny because Michael picked up on the deer analogy and we used it a long time ago. They also had a story about Abraham Lincoln (my boys love reading about him).
I liked following the poem well enough to print out, and I am teaching it to the boys:
There is more to the poem, but I thought the rest of the poem was silly/unnecessary so I am just
teaching the part above.
I bought a book awhile back called Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. I copied this picture and the one of the other book from Amazon.com so that's why it says "click to look inside". If you really want to look inside you will have to go to Amazon.com and click their picture. :-)
I believe I mentioned it in a post before.
I had started reading it in the mornings to the boys, but laid it aside for awhile. I started it again today. It's cute since it is written by siblings for siblings. There are all types of cute cartoons through the book. The first cartoon is of a cat and dog fighting over dinner. The boys really like it so far. From the reviews I have read it tackles the subject in the light of having a servants' heart. That is what I hope to accomplish through the reading it to them.
Believe it or not, that little "break" was just what I needed. I woke up today ready for school to start back again! One of my favorite things about "doing school" is taking each child aside and cuddling him while we study "facts" together. I love seeing that light of understanding dawn on his face after I explain something. I love watching his profile as he reads. It is hard to explain, but it's something I wouldn't want to trade.
We are still studying the character trait "attentiveness" in the morning before we start seat-work and the 3 R's.
I know I am spending a lot of time on it, but I think it's important!
The other day, I did google search on the word "attentiveness", and I found a lot of interesting things. One website, called "Character First" had a definition page, a story page, an analogy page and then a poem. Interestingly, they used a deer for the analogy. I think it's pretty funny because Michael picked up on the deer analogy and we used it a long time ago. They also had a story about Abraham Lincoln (my boys love reading about him).
I liked following the poem well enough to print out, and I am teaching it to the boys:
Attentiveness:
I will look at someone speaking
And I'll listen all I can.
I will sit or stand up straight
Like a soldier on command.
I will not draw attention;
I will guard against distraction.
I will learn to ask the questions
That will help me understand.
I will look at someone speaking
And I'll listen all I can.
I will sit or stand up straight
Like a soldier on command.
I will not draw attention;
I will guard against distraction.
I will learn to ask the questions
That will help me understand.
There is more to the poem, but I thought the rest of the poem was silly/unnecessary so I am just
teaching the part above.
I bought a book awhile back called Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends. I copied this picture and the one of the other book from Amazon.com so that's why it says "click to look inside". If you really want to look inside you will have to go to Amazon.com and click their picture. :-)
I believe I mentioned it in a post before.
I had started reading it in the mornings to the boys, but laid it aside for awhile. I started it again today. It's cute since it is written by siblings for siblings. There are all types of cute cartoons through the book. The first cartoon is of a cat and dog fighting over dinner. The boys really like it so far. From the reviews I have read it tackles the subject in the light of having a servants' heart. That is what I hope to accomplish through the reading it to them.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sneaking History into little minds
Do you think I am being sneaky? Here is a coloring page Ryan did today. :-)
I love his eye for color and attention to detail. I think he just might be a little perfectionist.
I love his eye for color and attention to detail. I think he just might be a little perfectionist.
Library Reading fun
I am very excited about our afternoon library book reading (mentioned in a post below)! Mondays are usually our days to visit the library in the afternoon. We enjoyed it even more today because Michael was able to go with us, and because Justin was able to use his very own brand new library card and book bag.
Today I was able to consult a very helpful binder in the children's section listing the readers & chapter books written by Christian authors!
Some books we found that were on the right level for my boys:
Adventures in Odyssey Readers
Readers for children by Beverly Lewis - I love her books for adults!
Boxcar children
Henry & Mudge
Various science readers about Volcanoes, Rocks & Minerals, and Meat-eating plants (Justin loves these!)
Jonathan is enjoying whole books now (instead of 2 or 3 word sentences) on his level. It's exciting to hear him read and understand entire books.
Today I was able to consult a very helpful binder in the children's section listing the readers & chapter books written by Christian authors!
Some books we found that were on the right level for my boys:
Adventures in Odyssey Readers
Readers for children by Beverly Lewis - I love her books for adults!
Boxcar children
Henry & Mudge
Various science readers about Volcanoes, Rocks & Minerals, and Meat-eating plants (Justin loves these!)
Jonathan is enjoying whole books now (instead of 2 or 3 word sentences) on his level. It's exciting to hear him read and understand entire books.
Getting Organized
I spent a lot of time the other day trying to decide a better way to present the boys with their workbooks. I had originally planned to leave their worksheets in the original binding because I thought it would be good for record keeping. However it has not taken me very long to decide to go ahead and tear out those pages! The books are bulky and in the way!
I realized how much time we were wasting waiting for them to say "Mom, I'm done. What's next?"
To make things go more smoothly, I made an excel spreadsheet list similar to the one below for them to use to guide them each day. It goes in front of all completed worksheets and into a 3 ring binder at the end of the day. This is so helpful with my record-keeping!
It looks similar to this (beside "pages assigned" is a box for them to check when work in each subject is complete):
_____________________________________________________________________________
Jonathan's daily assignments
Today's date: ______________________________
Subject/Name of Book used Pages assigned ck box
1 Reading:Fun with Pets (read orally to Mom) ______ ______
2 Italic Writing ______ ______
3 Arithmetic I ______ ______
4 Phonics Letters and Sounds I ______ ______
5 Language I ______ ______
6 Spelling I List # (write or orally spell to Mom) _____ ______
Notes, Other subjects, Extra books read, or Learning activities: ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
I found some nice folders for them to keep their daily assignment sheets. In the first pocket is the assignment and worksheets for the day, and the next pocket is the place where they transfer their completed work. When it gets on that side, it is ready for me to check for errors.
On their daily assignments, I do not mark them wrong with a big red "x". I circle the number they missed in pencil, and then they correct their errors. When the work is corrected and I have checked to make sure it is right, they are allowed to erase the circle. I have found this to be very effective in helping them to understand the lesson, and it shows me how they are doing. I have actually taken several days to re-iterate a point. For example, one of the boys was having a hard time understanding a certain mathematical issue. I was able to have him do supplemental pages (ABeka has lots of these in the very back of the workbooks),read extra books about the subject, and watch the appropriate DVDs from the library. It has really helped! He seems to truly understand now. This is a definite plus with home-schooling. You can make sure your child understands something before you move on. "No child left behind" takes on a different meaning!
When the boys complete their papers, they have a large selection of stickers to choose from to place at the top of the page. :-) This is so important! hee hee (I love stickers!)
Bible & Bible Memory, Character, Manners, Science, History, Art, Music, and anything else we study are all listed separately in my journal. We do those subjects as a unit instead of individually.
We have been using the new, more-organized method for a couple of days, and it has made a huge difference!
I realized how much time we were wasting waiting for them to say "Mom, I'm done. What's next?"
To make things go more smoothly, I made an excel spreadsheet list similar to the one below for them to use to guide them each day. It goes in front of all completed worksheets and into a 3 ring binder at the end of the day. This is so helpful with my record-keeping!
It looks similar to this (beside "pages assigned" is a box for them to check when work in each subject is complete):
_____________________________________________________________________________
Jonathan's daily assignments
Today's date: ______________________________
Subject/Name of Book used Pages assigned ck box
1 Reading:Fun with Pets (read orally to Mom) ______ ______
2 Italic Writing ______ ______
3 Arithmetic I ______ ______
4 Phonics Letters and Sounds I ______ ______
5 Language I ______ ______
6 Spelling I List # (write or orally spell to Mom) _____ ______
Notes, Other subjects, Extra books read, or Learning activities: ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
I found some nice folders for them to keep their daily assignment sheets. In the first pocket is the assignment and worksheets for the day, and the next pocket is the place where they transfer their completed work. When it gets on that side, it is ready for me to check for errors.
On their daily assignments, I do not mark them wrong with a big red "x". I circle the number they missed in pencil, and then they correct their errors. When the work is corrected and I have checked to make sure it is right, they are allowed to erase the circle. I have found this to be very effective in helping them to understand the lesson, and it shows me how they are doing. I have actually taken several days to re-iterate a point. For example, one of the boys was having a hard time understanding a certain mathematical issue. I was able to have him do supplemental pages (ABeka has lots of these in the very back of the workbooks),read extra books about the subject, and watch the appropriate DVDs from the library. It has really helped! He seems to truly understand now. This is a definite plus with home-schooling. You can make sure your child understands something before you move on. "No child left behind" takes on a different meaning!
When the boys complete their papers, they have a large selection of stickers to choose from to place at the top of the page. :-) This is so important! hee hee (I love stickers!)
Bible & Bible Memory, Character, Manners, Science, History, Art, Music, and anything else we study are all listed separately in my journal. We do those subjects as a unit instead of individually.
We have been using the new, more-organized method for a couple of days, and it has made a huge difference!
Friday, September 26, 2008
A Charlotte Mason education
I am currently reading a book by Catherine Levinson entitled A Charlotte Mason education. I have always been (well since I decided to home-school) interested in checking out the other styles that parents' use to home-school. Traditional schooling is based on a classroom full of kids, and is probably the best way to teach a classroom full.However with home-school, there are so many options out there. There are so many ways to learn, and I have every intention of researching the different styles to see if I can glean as many helpful ideas as I can.
Her style advocates a generous education that does not "kill" a love for learning.
"We are leading them to self education. This is done through direct contact with the best books..."
"We rely heavily on narration instead of comprehension questions or workbooks to verify knowledge"
Narration is basically an oral report. This is usually done with the younger children and as they improve orally, they are transitioned to compositions. Narration is a great way to prepare children for composition writing!
Nature walks and every day spent out-doors is highly suggested (I highly agree). Sketchbooks and quality art pencils are highly recommended for sketching nature during the nature walks.
Childhood is to be filled with beautiful memories.
Narration is a great way to get a child prepared for writing good compositions.
Although I don't consider myself ready or willing to chuck all of the textbooks we currently use or becoming a full-fledged "Charlotte Mason educator" right here and right now, I must say that I have gleaned a lot of helpful ideas.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Dad's involvement in homeschool
The title of this post sounds so serious, but you might chuckle a little when you read this post.
Since in our unit study, we are learning about Attentiveness, Listening, Ears, & Sound, Michael suggested that we read a great article in one of his hunting magazines.
The article is called "The Ears Have It" written by Dr. Phillip Bishop who is an avid hunter professor at University of Alabama (which, of course, gave me even more interest in the article).
I must say it was a very interesting article. It was easy to understand, and when the terminology was a little hard for the boys to grasp, I was able to stop and explain to them (terms like "frequency" and "amplitude"). The most interesting part was the fact that a deer's ears are always moving trying to catch sound. In this particular article, the author was explaining why a deer can hear the squeak of a deer stand, the breaking of a small twig, but it gets confused by the close, loud bang of a gun. And we were even able to feel a deer ear! Of course having one on the wall is a plus!
The subject of deer and how they listen fit perfectly with our attentiveness study.
If deer don't pay close attention at all times, they could get shot!
Way to go daddy!
Since in our unit study, we are learning about Attentiveness, Listening, Ears, & Sound, Michael suggested that we read a great article in one of his hunting magazines.
The article is called "The Ears Have It" written by Dr. Phillip Bishop who is an avid hunter professor at University of Alabama (which, of course, gave me even more interest in the article).
I must say it was a very interesting article. It was easy to understand, and when the terminology was a little hard for the boys to grasp, I was able to stop and explain to them (terms like "frequency" and "amplitude"). The most interesting part was the fact that a deer's ears are always moving trying to catch sound. In this particular article, the author was explaining why a deer can hear the squeak of a deer stand, the breaking of a small twig, but it gets confused by the close, loud bang of a gun. And we were even able to feel a deer ear! Of course having one on the wall is a plus!
The subject of deer and how they listen fit perfectly with our attentiveness study.
If deer don't pay close attention at all times, they could get shot!
Way to go daddy!
Math concepts
After seeing how expensive ABeka's charts & flashcards cost, I decided to make my own!
It's easy to do with Microsoft word, some printer ink, and some card stock. I typed out measurement, addition, subtraction, and time concepts. As the concepts are introduced, I will make more flashcards.
Also,I saw a set of flashcards in a catalog awhile back that I thought would be nice. They are triangular-shaped, and the triangular effect helps the child learn both concepts simultaneously. For example, he would not only learn that "9 + 9 = 18", but also "18 - 9 = 9". I really wanted to order those, but decided to see if I could find any free online to print. Much to my joy, I was able to find them! Click the box below to see a sample:
It's easy to do with Microsoft word, some printer ink, and some card stock. I typed out measurement, addition, subtraction, and time concepts. As the concepts are introduced, I will make more flashcards.
Also,I saw a set of flashcards in a catalog awhile back that I thought would be nice. They are triangular-shaped, and the triangular effect helps the child learn both concepts simultaneously. For example, he would not only learn that "9 + 9 = 18", but also "18 - 9 = 9". I really wanted to order those, but decided to see if I could find any free online to print. Much to my joy, I was able to find them! Click the box below to see a sample:
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Reading Charts
We have participated in several reading contests for the library and school in the past, and we will certainly join the next reading contest that the library sponsors.
I really want the boys to get interested in extra reading. I personally have learned so much just from reading!
I assign the boys reading during the day , but I would just love to see them get really excited about it.
They don't dislike reading, and they usually look at a lot of picture books on Sunday afternoons. Yet they haven't become extremely interested in just picking up books and reading for very long.
I felt a glimmer of hope the other morning when I walked into their room and Justin was laying on his bed reading a book .
He told me that he had stayed awake reading by the light of the moon(of course I had to make sure he knew that it's not good to read without good lighting) ,and when he woke up he had started back into the book. The book was a fictional chapter book about tornadoes. He loved it.
My plan is that they get a sticker for every book (or percentage of bigger books) that they read, and they get to place a sticker on printed copies of the chart below. When they fill it up, they get a surprise. I printed one for Ryan too for the books that I read to him.
I told Michael I would like to find a treasure chest to fill with little incentives. Bribing can be a good thing sometimes ;-)
*** Update: 9/25/08 I was able to find a cardboard treasure chest at THE DOLLAR STORE! I filled it with dollar items like puzzles, rubix cube, tools (Justin loves tools), a hat, art supplies, etc. They have been reading like crazy!!!!***
I really want the boys to get interested in extra reading. I personally have learned so much just from reading!
I assign the boys reading during the day , but I would just love to see them get really excited about it.
They don't dislike reading, and they usually look at a lot of picture books on Sunday afternoons. Yet they haven't become extremely interested in just picking up books and reading for very long.
I felt a glimmer of hope the other morning when I walked into their room and Justin was laying on his bed reading a book .
He told me that he had stayed awake reading by the light of the moon(of course I had to make sure he knew that it's not good to read without good lighting) ,and when he woke up he had started back into the book. The book was a fictional chapter book about tornadoes. He loved it.
My plan is that they get a sticker for every book (or percentage of bigger books) that they read, and they get to place a sticker on printed copies of the chart below. When they fill it up, they get a surprise. I printed one for Ryan too for the books that I read to him.
I told Michael I would like to find a treasure chest to fill with little incentives. Bribing can be a good thing sometimes ;-)
*** Update: 9/25/08 I was able to find a cardboard treasure chest at THE DOLLAR STORE! I filled it with dollar items like puzzles, rubix cube, tools (Justin loves tools), a hat, art supplies, etc. They have been reading like crazy!!!!***
Friday, September 19, 2008
Copywork
Something that I think is a really good idea is "copy-work". It is old-fashioned, and most of our fore-fathers did it.
This is a supplement I am using to go with the boys' Italic writing workbooks.
From the Donna Young website. I love this:
The handwriting lessons on this page have content from George Washington's Rules of Decent Behavior (rules of civility for short). I read a long time ago that George did not make up these rules, but as a youth, he was required to copy them in a notebook. I do not know if that is true or not; it is a good idea, and copywork is a good way to learn something!
Here is lesson one from George Washington's rules of civility:
Click the box below to see it:
Here is an example of Italic verse copywork: Click the box below:
This is a supplement I am using to go with the boys' Italic writing workbooks.
From the Donna Young website. I love this:
The handwriting lessons on this page have content from George Washington's Rules of Decent Behavior (rules of civility for short). I read a long time ago that George did not make up these rules, but as a youth, he was required to copy them in a notebook. I do not know if that is true or not; it is a good idea, and copywork is a good way to learn something!
Here is lesson one from George Washington's rules of civility:
Click the box below to see it:
Here is an example of Italic verse copywork: Click the box below:
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sound experiments
Today we read a book called Amazing Science Amazing Sound. It discusses how sound travels through different mediums. We conducted several experiments to go with our study.
1. Identified sounds going on around us
2. Cup hand around ears; sound is magnified
3. Discussed vibrations. Clapped loudly & quietly. Loud sounds are made by large vibrations, whereas quieter sounds are made by small vibrations.
4. Felt the voice box while making high and low pitches
5. Sound waves travel through water. We created our own waves in a bowl of water.
6. Bounced a ball off the wall to see how an echo works. Our voice bounces back off the wall just like a ball. (When you shout in a cave, your voice bounces off the walls, and you hear an echo)
7. My favorite experiment was the sound in action experiment. You get a coffee tin can, stretch plastic wrap tightly over the top. Sprinkle coffee grounds lightly on top of the plastic wrap. As you bang another coffee can with a spoon (the open tin can pointing toward the coffee grains), the coffee grains jump. This proves that sound travels in waves because nothing but the sound is causing those grains to jump.
8. Discussed how a shorter string on a musical instrument (we used Justin's guitar) produces a higher pitch. A longer string produces a lower pitch.
9. We also watched 4 Cello performances on YouTube. We watched and discussed how the Cello players produced higher and lower pitches with their instruments as we watched their hands move on the neck of the Cello.
Here is another interesting experiment with high pitched sounds(using sand) that we watched:
1. Identified sounds going on around us
2. Cup hand around ears; sound is magnified
3. Discussed vibrations. Clapped loudly & quietly. Loud sounds are made by large vibrations, whereas quieter sounds are made by small vibrations.
4. Felt the voice box while making high and low pitches
5. Sound waves travel through water. We created our own waves in a bowl of water.
6. Bounced a ball off the wall to see how an echo works. Our voice bounces back off the wall just like a ball. (When you shout in a cave, your voice bounces off the walls, and you hear an echo)
7. My favorite experiment was the sound in action experiment. You get a coffee tin can, stretch plastic wrap tightly over the top. Sprinkle coffee grounds lightly on top of the plastic wrap. As you bang another coffee can with a spoon (the open tin can pointing toward the coffee grains), the coffee grains jump. This proves that sound travels in waves because nothing but the sound is causing those grains to jump.
8. Discussed how a shorter string on a musical instrument (we used Justin's guitar) produces a higher pitch. A longer string produces a lower pitch.
9. We also watched 4 Cello performances on YouTube. We watched and discussed how the Cello players produced higher and lower pitches with their instruments as we watched their hands move on the neck of the Cello.
Here is another interesting experiment with high pitched sounds(using sand) that we watched:
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
History Time-line
Because I want the boys to have a visual idea of times in history, we are using a time-line for the wall. Pre-made time-lines are out there, but they are pretty expensive. Therefore we will use our American chronological history book as a guide, and we will to create our own! The internet, especially Wikipedia, abounds with pictures and information.
I found this website where I printed a time-line graph for free (and it also has a fabulous looking free curriculum on their home-page that I may look into when I have some extra time [insert laughter here].. just kidding!).
Below is my main time-line character. I chose this one out of all the bloody images of Him on the cross. All of history revolves around HIM:
Below are our first three American history time-line characters. I copied them in Word, and after printing, we will cut and paste onto the time-line graph.
Tower of Babel
Leif Ericson [1] (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse[2] explorer who was probably the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland).
Christopher Columbus (1451[1] – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Though not the first to reach the Americas from Afro-Eurasia — preceded some five hundred years by Leif Ericson, and perhaps by others — Columbus initiated widespread contact between Europeans and indigenous Americans.
I found this website where I printed a time-line graph for free (and it also has a fabulous looking free curriculum on their home-page that I may look into when I have some extra time [insert laughter here].. just kidding!).
Below is my main time-line character. I chose this one out of all the bloody images of Him on the cross. All of history revolves around HIM:
Jesus
Below are our first three American history time-line characters. I copied them in Word, and after printing, we will cut and paste onto the time-line graph.
??? 6, 000 B.C. plus++++?
Leif Ericson [1] (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse[2] explorer who was probably the first European to land in North America (excluding Greenland).
Christopher Columbus (1451[1] – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. Though not the first to reach the Americas from Afro-Eurasia — preceded some five hundred years by Leif Ericson, and perhaps by others — Columbus initiated widespread contact between Europeans and indigenous Americans.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Posters and Stories
Once a week, we take a day to do reinforcement activities to go with what we have been learning in our curriculum.
The verse that has been our theme verse for the character quality, "Attentiveness", is Proverbs 20:12. It says "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them".
Attentiveness is something that I want my children to grasp. I think that most parents struggle with getting their children to truly listen and watch.
To go along with our "attentiveness" theme, we completed a poster project today. I took a huge stack of magazines that Grammy gave us and searched through them for pictures of people with nice eyes and ears. I tore the pages out for the boys to cut pictures of eyes and ears to paste to a dark blue poster-board.
We cut out so many eyes and ears that it just about completely covered the poster board. Then I cut out different colors of slips of construction paper and had the boys write one word of the verse on each slip. We then glued the words on top. After gluing the verses on top of the pictures/poster, I typed out words like "listen", "pay attention", "look", "don't get distracted", "concentrate" and "hear" in various fonts on the computer and cut those strips out to paste randomly on the poster. It is quite interesting looking and hangs in the dining room.
A few things we all learned:
1. Don't give up, your efforts will be rewarded: after cutting a few pictures out, they (and I) were ready to be done but I made us finish :-) It was tedious because it was so time consuming!
2. We must use our ears & eyes to pay attention.
3. Use art to glorify the Lord!
4. Everyone's eyes and ears are different
We are still reading a biography about Helen Keller. I think I have one or two chapters left. I was able to find braille and sign language books at our library. Of course the boys loved that.
Another project that the boys are doing (we started today) is writing their own story books. I bought some of those 3-brad paper folders to put their stories in. They love writing the stories and drawing a picture to go with it. It helps with their penmanship, writing logic, spelling, grammar/phonics, & creativity. After having them write their story, I had considered erasing mistakes and have them re-write the story. After trying that, I decided to take a more gentle approach and allow them to put their story into the folder the way it is. Then I can see what needs work without destroying their efforts, and assign those misspelled words on workbook days to improve their writing. I am giving a folder to Ryan too so that he can included his artwork.
Last night after church, I bought an inexpensive analog/digital clock resource to help me teach the time concept. I remember struggling as a child to grasp the differences of late p.m. & early a.m. Well, it IS dark early a.m....why would that be?
I think that it is so confusing for an young children to grasp (especially since they are always in bed in the late p.m. & early a.m. hours). I found this game on the internet to help us, and then I am using the clock from Wal-mart to reinforce the idea.
Has anyone ever heard of "buddy school?". I saw a home-schooling blogger that talked about buddy school in larger families. I thought it was a great idea to help children get along with each other and work together as a team. Before I had even introduced this idea to my kids, they did it anyway! Justin has been showing Ryan how to write his letters! Ryan thinks it's just great. I love the sweet voice Justin uses to teach. It is so important to me that my children build strong relationships with one another. At this point, they are teetering daily between fighting and hugging. It's like a roller coaster some days. The Lord is helping us though!
I love it!
The verse that has been our theme verse for the character quality, "Attentiveness", is Proverbs 20:12. It says "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them".
Attentiveness is something that I want my children to grasp. I think that most parents struggle with getting their children to truly listen and watch.
To go along with our "attentiveness" theme, we completed a poster project today. I took a huge stack of magazines that Grammy gave us and searched through them for pictures of people with nice eyes and ears. I tore the pages out for the boys to cut pictures of eyes and ears to paste to a dark blue poster-board.
We cut out so many eyes and ears that it just about completely covered the poster board. Then I cut out different colors of slips of construction paper and had the boys write one word of the verse on each slip. We then glued the words on top. After gluing the verses on top of the pictures/poster, I typed out words like "listen", "pay attention", "look", "don't get distracted", "concentrate" and "hear" in various fonts on the computer and cut those strips out to paste randomly on the poster. It is quite interesting looking and hangs in the dining room.
A few things we all learned:
1. Don't give up, your efforts will be rewarded: after cutting a few pictures out, they (and I) were ready to be done but I made us finish :-) It was tedious because it was so time consuming!
2. We must use our ears & eyes to pay attention.
3. Use art to glorify the Lord!
4. Everyone's eyes and ears are different
We are still reading a biography about Helen Keller. I think I have one or two chapters left. I was able to find braille and sign language books at our library. Of course the boys loved that.
Another project that the boys are doing (we started today) is writing their own story books. I bought some of those 3-brad paper folders to put their stories in. They love writing the stories and drawing a picture to go with it. It helps with their penmanship, writing logic, spelling, grammar/phonics, & creativity. After having them write their story, I had considered erasing mistakes and have them re-write the story. After trying that, I decided to take a more gentle approach and allow them to put their story into the folder the way it is. Then I can see what needs work without destroying their efforts, and assign those misspelled words on workbook days to improve their writing. I am giving a folder to Ryan too so that he can included his artwork.
Last night after church, I bought an inexpensive analog/digital clock resource to help me teach the time concept. I remember struggling as a child to grasp the differences of late p.m. & early a.m. Well, it IS dark early a.m....why would that be?
I think that it is so confusing for an young children to grasp (especially since they are always in bed in the late p.m. & early a.m. hours). I found this game on the internet to help us, and then I am using the clock from Wal-mart to reinforce the idea.
Has anyone ever heard of "buddy school?". I saw a home-schooling blogger that talked about buddy school in larger families. I thought it was a great idea to help children get along with each other and work together as a team. Before I had even introduced this idea to my kids, they did it anyway! Justin has been showing Ryan how to write his letters! Ryan thinks it's just great. I love the sweet voice Justin uses to teach. It is so important to me that my children build strong relationships with one another. At this point, they are teetering daily between fighting and hugging. It's like a roller coaster some days. The Lord is helping us though!
I love it!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Quick Report
I just wanted to report that our first school day went VERY well. I actually felt the prayers... so thank you to anyone who prayed! The Lord really helped and gave me a patient spirit (with which I was rewarded with a lot of hugs and kisses).
I didn't get the boys out of bed until 8, so after breakfast and getting ready we started our day close to 9.
We were able to have devotions, character study and game, and most of the ABeka teaching and workbooks by 10:30. After a huge break (eating & playing outside) until 12:30, we finished up workbooks and built our giant crawl through ear. I think we stayed in the playroom with the ear until 2:30, so I guess when we left the playroom we technically ended our "school day" at 2:30 p.m. But like I have said in my last posts, I consider that life is learning so learning never ends. :-)
We did get to go to the library and I was able to find all of the books I needed about the ear (hearing, sound, listening, & Helen Keller). I was also able to find the DVD, The Miracle Worker, which is about Helen Keller's life. I also found several CD's with violin music since I chose that as our first instrument to study.
Well that's all for now. Hopefully I will get pictures on here before too long.
I didn't get the boys out of bed until 8, so after breakfast and getting ready we started our day close to 9.
We were able to have devotions, character study and game, and most of the ABeka teaching and workbooks by 10:30. After a huge break (eating & playing outside) until 12:30, we finished up workbooks and built our giant crawl through ear. I think we stayed in the playroom with the ear until 2:30, so I guess when we left the playroom we technically ended our "school day" at 2:30 p.m. But like I have said in my last posts, I consider that life is learning so learning never ends. :-)
We did get to go to the library and I was able to find all of the books I needed about the ear (hearing, sound, listening, & Helen Keller). I was also able to find the DVD, The Miracle Worker, which is about Helen Keller's life. I also found several CD's with violin music since I chose that as our first instrument to study.
Well that's all for now. Hopefully I will get pictures on here before too long.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Plan for First Day of School
Today is the first day of school! It's 7:30 and I have been up since 4:20 -ish (only because Michael had to be at work by 6!!!).
I have been able to get a lot done this morning, thank the Lord! The dining room is decorated and I am about to shower, and after that I will wake up the boys and start our day! I am not sure if I will have time today to post how our day went until maybe tomorrow morning. Michael said not to overdo it on the first day. :-)
But here is my plan for our day:
Boys up, breakfast, morning chores (whenever Ryan wakes up- he will be getting to sleep in)
Devotions & KONOS Character study (Attentiveness- will play a game where I blindfold the boys and have them identify different sounds)
ABeka Math
ABeka Phonics
ABekaLanguage
Getty Dubay Italic Writing
ABeka Reading
Konos Activities - Study the parts of the ear. Build a "crawl through" ear in the playroom including the parts of the ear inside.
Go to the library and check out a huge stack of books that have to do with ears, listening, & attentiveness, and a biography about Helen Keller. Check out Several CDs that have to do with the violin.
I am hoping to be able to get an appointment for a field trip to a hearing aid clinic here in town. I have emailed the one on X street, and I am hoping they will cooperate.
My camera, for some reason, isn't transferring the pictures onto the computer. I don't know if it is software or the camera but I am hoping to get that fixed soon so I can take lots of pictures of our projects.
I have been able to get a lot done this morning, thank the Lord! The dining room is decorated and I am about to shower, and after that I will wake up the boys and start our day! I am not sure if I will have time today to post how our day went until maybe tomorrow morning. Michael said not to overdo it on the first day. :-)
But here is my plan for our day:
Boys up, breakfast, morning chores (whenever Ryan wakes up- he will be getting to sleep in)
Devotions & KONOS Character study (Attentiveness- will play a game where I blindfold the boys and have them identify different sounds)
ABeka Math
ABeka Phonics
ABekaLanguage
Getty Dubay Italic Writing
ABeka Reading
Konos Activities - Study the parts of the ear. Build a "crawl through" ear in the playroom including the parts of the ear inside.
Go to the library and check out a huge stack of books that have to do with ears, listening, & attentiveness, and a biography about Helen Keller. Check out Several CDs that have to do with the violin.
I am hoping to be able to get an appointment for a field trip to a hearing aid clinic here in town. I have emailed the one on X street, and I am hoping they will cooperate.
My camera, for some reason, isn't transferring the pictures onto the computer. I don't know if it is software or the camera but I am hoping to get that fixed soon so I can take lots of pictures of our projects.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Great quote about hyperactive boys :-)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
A definite praise!
A Great Victory for California Homeschoolers
In a unanimous decision, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District today ruled that “California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education.”
Today’s decision stands in stark contrast to the opinion this same three-judge panel issued in February, which would have made California the only state in the union to outlaw home education had it remained in effect.
“It is unusual for an appellate court to grant a petition for rehearing as this court did in March,” said HSLDA Chairman Mike Farris, “but it is truly remarkable for a court to completely reverse its own earlier opinion. We thank you for your prayers and give God the glory for this great victory.”
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Curriculum choices, a summation
I am really excited to say that I have finally ordered almost all of the curriculum and workbooks for school! I have already received most of the books, and I am only waiting for one more shipment.
I say "almost" because I have ordered everything we need to start the year, but I will need to order KONOS when Michael gets paid again. I am watching to get the best price on Ebay and since we do not plan to start school until the first week of September, I am giving myself time to find the best price (and time to prepare).
I am using this post to list the books we will be using, and a summation of the "new" curriculum ("new" meaning the different types of curriculum that we haven't used in the past).
I am looking forward to a new approach to teaching the boys, and in my search for curriculum KONOS seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
About KONOS:
According to their website, it covers the following subjects
I have had several high recommendations for it. I love the fact that we as a family will study these subjects as a unit-together, and the fact that it gives me a library reading guide. I love the fact that every subject is based on a character trait.
For the three R's we will be using ABeka Math, Phonics, and Language, the Getty-Dubay Italics handwriting course (I talked about in an earlier post.. if you want to see a picture, go back a few posts), and Spelling Power. Even though KONOS covers reading, I still ordered the ABeka reading curriculum for the simple fact that I love it so much! Justin will be reading Pilgrim's Progress this year, one of my favorites.
So we will be doing both ABeka reading and following the KONOS reading schedule. Needless to say we WILL BE doing a lot of reading!
About Spelling Power:
Spelling Power is complete. It includes lists of the 5,000 most frequently used words organized by Phonetic principles and spelling rules. It can be used all the way through high school!
It came highly recommended by Rhonda Pepple (who taught me high school English & Grammar). I am hoping to have some really good spellers before it's over :-)
In addition to KONOS history (which uses a time-line), we will be using several books I ordered back when my boys were babies. I have been waiting for the right opportunity to teach from them. They are as follows:
Don't Know Much About American History
Don't Know Much About The Fifty States
Scholastics Encyclopedia of the Presidents and their Times
and Pa-pa's gift to Justin: Eyewitness book about Presidents.
I also have a nice set of flashcards teaching the fifty states and their capitals that I ordered "way back when". It's funny that when I ordered those books & flashcards I had no idea I would be home-schooling!
Going back and reading my curriculum list gives me a huge reason to praise the Lord! Even though it has taken a little more planning and time to get good prices on a lot of the items, a lot of them are brand new or like new in condition.
I have been ordering a little bit per paycheck. Here's my praise: I am happy to record that so far, as opposed to last year's $500, I have only spent around $200 for EVERYTHING so far (and ordered at my own leisure) and this includes my teaching resources ! And hopefully after KONOS is ordered, it will still be less than $250! The beauty of this homeschooling thing is that I can research and find resources at my own leisure and time frame. This luxury, in itself, has been a huge financial blessing for us.
Now that I have almost all my curriculum, I need to get my schedule ironed out. September starts Michael's new day shift schedule (perfect timing!). Since I am just now getting my curriculum and still need to order KONOS September seems a whole lot better than August. :-)
I say "almost" because I have ordered everything we need to start the year, but I will need to order KONOS when Michael gets paid again. I am watching to get the best price on Ebay and since we do not plan to start school until the first week of September, I am giving myself time to find the best price (and time to prepare).
I am using this post to list the books we will be using, and a summation of the "new" curriculum ("new" meaning the different types of curriculum that we haven't used in the past).
I am looking forward to a new approach to teaching the boys, and in my search for curriculum KONOS seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
About KONOS:
According to their website, it covers the following subjects
Bible
Character
History
Science
Literature
Writing
Practical Living
Field Trips
Critical Thinking
Arts/Crafts
Music
Drama/Speech
Geography
Social Studies
Health/Safety
How is KONOS different
from other curricula?
KONOS is distinct from other curricula in that it features:
· Godly character trait focus
· Units with all subjects integrated
· Hands-on, experiential activities
· Discovery learning
· Multi-level, family teaching
KONOS uses the entire library as a textbook and the whole world as its curriculum.
I have had several high recommendations for it. I love the fact that we as a family will study these subjects as a unit-together, and the fact that it gives me a library reading guide. I love the fact that every subject is based on a character trait.
For the three R's we will be using ABeka Math, Phonics, and Language, the Getty-Dubay Italics handwriting course (I talked about in an earlier post.. if you want to see a picture, go back a few posts), and Spelling Power. Even though KONOS covers reading, I still ordered the ABeka reading curriculum for the simple fact that I love it so much! Justin will be reading Pilgrim's Progress this year, one of my favorites.
So we will be doing both ABeka reading and following the KONOS reading schedule. Needless to say we WILL BE doing a lot of reading!
About Spelling Power:
Spelling Power is complete. It includes lists of the 5,000 most frequently used words organized by Phonetic principles and spelling rules. It can be used all the way through high school!
It came highly recommended by Rhonda Pepple (who taught me high school English & Grammar). I am hoping to have some really good spellers before it's over :-)
In addition to KONOS history (which uses a time-line), we will be using several books I ordered back when my boys were babies. I have been waiting for the right opportunity to teach from them. They are as follows:
Don't Know Much About American History
Don't Know Much About The Fifty States
Scholastics Encyclopedia of the Presidents and their Times
and Pa-pa's gift to Justin: Eyewitness book about Presidents.
I also have a nice set of flashcards teaching the fifty states and their capitals that I ordered "way back when". It's funny that when I ordered those books & flashcards I had no idea I would be home-schooling!
Going back and reading my curriculum list gives me a huge reason to praise the Lord! Even though it has taken a little more planning and time to get good prices on a lot of the items, a lot of them are brand new or like new in condition.
I have been ordering a little bit per paycheck. Here's my praise: I am happy to record that so far, as opposed to last year's $500, I have only spent around $200 for EVERYTHING so far (and ordered at my own leisure) and this includes my teaching resources ! And hopefully after KONOS is ordered, it will still be less than $250! The beauty of this homeschooling thing is that I can research and find resources at my own leisure and time frame. This luxury, in itself, has been a huge financial blessing for us.
Now that I have almost all my curriculum, I need to get my schedule ironed out. September starts Michael's new day shift schedule (perfect timing!). Since I am just now getting my curriculum and still need to order KONOS September seems a whole lot better than August. :-)
Monday, July 21, 2008
Convenience Parenting
We live in a culture of convenience don't we? Certainly if something is more convenient, we might pay more for it. Who wants to skin those carrots when you can buy some that SOMEONE ELSE has already skinned and prepared. Ah.. the luxury! Just rinse and pop right into your mouth.
Look a little closer though. Those baby carrots cost twice as much more and you get less! It only takes a couple of minutes to skin them, so why not do a tiny bit of extra work so you can be a good steward of your money?
I am laughing at myself for using this example, because yes, I have on occasion bought the baby carrots. And of course I am not criticizing anyone for buying them. That would be absurd.
But it does present such a great teachable moment doesn't it? *grin*
I was having a conversation with a friend recently. The conversation was geared in the direction of how inconvenient parenting our kids can be. She basically said that sending them to school is the only break we get from them so,for goodness sakes, why in the world would you HOME-SCHOOL them? You are nuts, Kim! She then continued on and on about how inconvenient children are.
What about a missionary? As a friend once stated, no one questions the sacrifices that a missionary goes through to take the gospel to the lost. Most people don't even question if they can or cannot do it. God will help them because He called them to do it. But when it comes to motherhood, then our convenience is always considered. Is motherhood always easy? Did God call me to motherhood? Are my children my mission field? If He did give these little treasures to me to parent, does that not mean that He trusts me (calls me) to do the WORK it takes to teach them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?
What about my own selfish desires?
If God called me to motherhood, then it's my job to be the mother He called me to be regardless of what I may or may not want. We are all so caught up in "me-ism". We are so worried about "ME" time, that we are missing out on the biggest joys of life.
Are we so worried about ourselves that we aren't willing to DIE to ourselves? Some of the most awesome moments in my parenting have come when I chose to put my own wishes aside and pray with, play with, read to, and teach my boys.
I don't know about anyone else, but I not only expect hardship but I hope that when it does come I will embrace each moment as teachable. Molding me and my family into what God calls us to be. I can do nothing else but obey His calling and embrace it regardless if it gets in the way of what I want for me.
What am I teaching my boys if instead of facing hardship head on, I run the other way?
Recently I was thinking that maybe I should "lay off" on being so open about my housekeeping difficulties. I have noticed that, for example, I might say things to whoever may be standing beside me at the time, "I just cannot keep up with this laundry!". I think I should maybe lay off being so open so that people won't think "well, if she can't handle that then she can't handle homeschooling".
Or if I say, "Wow, I am tired today", then for some reason people take that as an opening to say "well you chose that road when you chose to home-school".
But on the other hand if I pretend to be "miss perfect" then deep down I think I am being somewhat hypocritical. Yes, I am sure I do need to lay off telling about every struggle but, on the other hand, I am a REAL person with real struggles. And these real struggles may be hard, BUT should I allow them to keep me from pursuing God's calling on my life.
No, home-schooling won't be easy. But does it HAVE TO BE EASY for me to embrace it?
No one expects that missionary to just chuck his call to the mission field just because it will be hard? We have been so brainwashed in this culture to run from hard-ship that we are missing out on God's blessings. May I embrace God's call on my life... even the hard things. Perhaps one day I will be able to look back and see how God used it (hardship & trials) to mold our family's character into what God would have us to be.
Look a little closer though. Those baby carrots cost twice as much more and you get less! It only takes a couple of minutes to skin them, so why not do a tiny bit of extra work so you can be a good steward of your money?
I am laughing at myself for using this example, because yes, I have on occasion bought the baby carrots. And of course I am not criticizing anyone for buying them. That would be absurd.
But it does present such a great teachable moment doesn't it? *grin*
I was having a conversation with a friend recently. The conversation was geared in the direction of how inconvenient parenting our kids can be. She basically said that sending them to school is the only break we get from them so,for goodness sakes, why in the world would you HOME-SCHOOL them? You are nuts, Kim! She then continued on and on about how inconvenient children are.
What about a missionary? As a friend once stated, no one questions the sacrifices that a missionary goes through to take the gospel to the lost. Most people don't even question if they can or cannot do it. God will help them because He called them to do it. But when it comes to motherhood, then our convenience is always considered. Is motherhood always easy? Did God call me to motherhood? Are my children my mission field? If He did give these little treasures to me to parent, does that not mean that He trusts me (calls me) to do the WORK it takes to teach them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?
What about my own selfish desires?
If God called me to motherhood, then it's my job to be the mother He called me to be regardless of what I may or may not want. We are all so caught up in "me-ism". We are so worried about "ME" time, that we are missing out on the biggest joys of life.
Are we so worried about ourselves that we aren't willing to DIE to ourselves? Some of the most awesome moments in my parenting have come when I chose to put my own wishes aside and pray with, play with, read to, and teach my boys.
I don't know about anyone else, but I not only expect hardship but I hope that when it does come I will embrace each moment as teachable. Molding me and my family into what God calls us to be. I can do nothing else but obey His calling and embrace it regardless if it gets in the way of what I want for me.
What am I teaching my boys if instead of facing hardship head on, I run the other way?
Recently I was thinking that maybe I should "lay off" on being so open about my housekeeping difficulties. I have noticed that, for example, I might say things to whoever may be standing beside me at the time, "I just cannot keep up with this laundry!". I think I should maybe lay off being so open so that people won't think "well, if she can't handle that then she can't handle homeschooling".
Or if I say, "Wow, I am tired today", then for some reason people take that as an opening to say "well you chose that road when you chose to home-school".
But on the other hand if I pretend to be "miss perfect" then deep down I think I am being somewhat hypocritical. Yes, I am sure I do need to lay off telling about every struggle but, on the other hand, I am a REAL person with real struggles. And these real struggles may be hard, BUT should I allow them to keep me from pursuing God's calling on my life.
No, home-schooling won't be easy. But does it HAVE TO BE EASY for me to embrace it?
No one expects that missionary to just chuck his call to the mission field just because it will be hard? We have been so brainwashed in this culture to run from hard-ship that we are missing out on God's blessings. May I embrace God's call on my life... even the hard things. Perhaps one day I will be able to look back and see how God used it (hardship & trials) to mold our family's character into what God would have us to be.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Children Who Will Change The World
"If you fear not what people can do to you, you will become dangerous to society" -Dr. Jeff Meyers
I want my children to be fearless to the point of changing the world!
I want my children to be fearless to the point of changing the world!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
First post
Well, This is my first post. I debated about "do-ing" a blog about our home-school, but I must admit that I see this type of blogging as being very positive.
Before I even kept a blog, I kept a journal. I still do.I love to go back and read when my boys were babies!
I know school doesn't start until August or September, but I have already begun my preparations. I am still debating whether or not to go with KONOS curriculum for unit studies. It looks really neat because everything is revolving around character and they are big on using a time-line for history.
I have had some high recommendations for it, so I may buy a used copy on Ebay and "try" it for now. But I have definitely decided to go with ABeka for Math (I have already purchased 3rd grade teacher books for this), Phonics(have Justin's already) , and Language since I am so comfortable with ABeka. I had it from K-12 and I taught it at SCCA. However, now that I have done quite a bit of research, there is so much more out there. Not that ABeka can't be fun, but there is more fun and creative stuff... stuff that makes learning exciting!
I am also trying to decide whether or not to try The Getty Dubay Italic instead of traditional cursive. The idea of italic is that it has no loops, so it is very easy to read and in my opinion very beautiful.
Here is a picture of Italics. I got this book at the library and honestly I think I am going to teach it to myself too! The Lighthouse Christian bookstore has them in curricula form for home-schoolers! Yay!
And this is the way they used to write. Why did they change it?!!!! Here is a picture... what do you think? I especially love the way they do the capital letters.
I personally am reading the biographies of Maria Von Trapp (The Sound of Music). I am enjoying it immensely!
With the boys, I have read a biography of Abraham Lincoln, a simple story about Beethoven, and now we are reading about Benjamin Franklin. I have George Washington, George Washington Carver, Christopher Columbus and others waiting. Our library has a lot of educational videos and DVDs that I am already taking advantage of. You see, I am trying to teach my boys that learning is constant. Not only from 8-3 (although we will still follow a scheduled school day). I want them to love it and learn to find things out for themselves.
Another thing I am going to work on is their manners. I got a both a book and video about manners just this week to begin with and will continue to work on it. Another book we are going through together (we just started) is called Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by the Mally siblings. I hope that it affects them greatly!
Before I even kept a blog, I kept a journal. I still do.I love to go back and read when my boys were babies!
I know school doesn't start until August or September, but I have already begun my preparations. I am still debating whether or not to go with KONOS curriculum for unit studies. It looks really neat because everything is revolving around character and they are big on using a time-line for history.
I have had some high recommendations for it, so I may buy a used copy on Ebay and "try" it for now. But I have definitely decided to go with ABeka for Math (I have already purchased 3rd grade teacher books for this), Phonics(have Justin's already) , and Language since I am so comfortable with ABeka. I had it from K-12 and I taught it at SCCA. However, now that I have done quite a bit of research, there is so much more out there. Not that ABeka can't be fun, but there is more fun and creative stuff... stuff that makes learning exciting!
I am also trying to decide whether or not to try The Getty Dubay Italic instead of traditional cursive. The idea of italic is that it has no loops, so it is very easy to read and in my opinion very beautiful.
Here is a picture of Italics. I got this book at the library and honestly I think I am going to teach it to myself too! The Lighthouse Christian bookstore has them in curricula form for home-schoolers! Yay!
And this is the way they used to write. Why did they change it?!!!! Here is a picture... what do you think? I especially love the way they do the capital letters.
I think it's beautiful!
Yes, it's summer-time and we are doing a lot of biography reading.I personally am reading the biographies of Maria Von Trapp (The Sound of Music). I am enjoying it immensely!
With the boys, I have read a biography of Abraham Lincoln, a simple story about Beethoven, and now we are reading about Benjamin Franklin. I have George Washington, George Washington Carver, Christopher Columbus and others waiting. Our library has a lot of educational videos and DVDs that I am already taking advantage of. You see, I am trying to teach my boys that learning is constant. Not only from 8-3 (although we will still follow a scheduled school day). I want them to love it and learn to find things out for themselves.
Another thing I am going to work on is their manners. I got a both a book and video about manners just this week to begin with and will continue to work on it. Another book we are going through together (we just started) is called Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by the Mally siblings. I hope that it affects them greatly!
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