I'll tell you a little secret...THIS is the best part of homeschooling.

I'm asked about homeschooling fairly often. And when asked what I like about it I give all sorts of standard answers about how I love spending time together, or how he is learning more at home, or even that they are getting lots of time together to form sibling bonds. All pretty much the same answers you see in articles on homeschooling, blog posts, etc. But the truth is the BEST part of homeschooling isn't any of that. In fact, the best part really has nothing to do with the kids at all. The dirty little secret, that no one tells you, is that the absolute best part of the homeschool experience is that tiny sliver of time between ending one year and starting a new one. The sweet spot when all possibilities seem open, and nothing stands between you and an amazing school year except your credit card. You flip through catalogs, oohing and ahing over 3D maps and CDs of historical radio broadcasts. You search websites for that one science kit that will transform your child from sullen teenager to world reonowned physicist. Shiny ads and convention speakers promise happy days cuddled with books and test scores beyond your wildest imagination. And in that magical between time you believe it all.

So yeah, I love this time. It will end all too soon. In fact, as soon as you make the first purchase the magic starts to fade. You find the flaws, you realize how long it will take to plan, the binder doesn't look quite as sparkly and vivid as it did on the website. I know all that. I know that soon I'll be wrestling with my planning software and way too many books, trying to make them all fit. Trying to find that balance between learning "enough" and not overdoing it. But right now I'm ignoring all that. I'm going to drool over latin roots and picture study and dissection kits and enjoy the fun part. Cause really..it's the best part.

My name is Katie, and I'm a curriculum addict.

I know we are doing American History next year. I know the basic resources we will use. I know what programs don't fit into that schedule. I know we are not doing Ancient history. I know he doesn't want to do a Great Books study. And yet...man do I drool over the new Omnibus self paced lessons!  History, great books, religion, all in one. College class meets travel documentary. I can't help it. I want it. And will drool over it. so yeah...I'm a curriculum addict. I admit it. If you want to see what has me all doe eyed you can check out some free sample lessons.

"Integrated" geography

I made up that title all by myself. It's a nicer way of saying "throw things at the subject and hopes some of it sticks." We've tried multiple things for geography. We used the maps from The Story of the World, Activity Book  our first year, and Map Trek  our second year. I LOVE the Map Trek maps!  This year we are using Sonlight and it takes a different approach. Rather than doing detail work on a small, regional map it has him label places he reads about on a large world map. He enjoys none of this. To try to make it a bit more interesting I have taken to adding in some "fun" games. He does enjoy the phone app "Stack the Countries", and last night he played geography games at FreeRice.com. (If you haven't been to freerice you need to try it. You play educational quiz games and right answers earn food for hungry people.) And just for good measure he watched a segment of a Rick Steves' travel show on Venice. So there you go: "Integrated" Geography.

"breaking" news....

In very unexpected news my oldest, the 13 year old, managed to break two of his vertebrae in his back this weekend. He was only hospitalized one night, and is home in a brace for 3 months. This was a very good outcome considering. However, the brace makes it very hard for him to sit at a desk for more than about 15 minutes or so. And even if he could he is under orders from the doctor to avoid sitting in one position for more than 20 minutes without getting up and moving around. I can't imagine how he would manage if he was in a traditional school setting. I'm so glad he is homeschooling and we are able to be flexible and work around his limitations. That means he does half of his math lesson and then lays down for a bit before finishing up. It means acknowledging that along with the physical pain there will be mental stress and exhaustion and planning accordingly. I'm lightening his load a bit and plugging in some documentaries and movies that he can watch on the tablet in bed. We are finding time to laugh and be silly. Time to go to the bookstore in the middle of the day to avoid traffic. Time to be very very very grateful that in the end he will be ok.

Big week!

More flannel board (aka felt board) fun for Molly! I loved them as a kid so I can't help but want to use it with her. This week we are working on the letter A, so I made both upper and lower case letters, an alligator, and an ant. Then realized that the beginning sound of ant is not exactly like the beginning sound of alligator. Phonics are (is?) confusing. Either way, she liked my little ant and happily marched around the house while I sang "The Ants Go Marching." We just marched "one by one" this week as we are also covering the number 1. Not a lot of fun to be had with the number one, but we managed. Best activity was placing one raisin in each heart section of a heart shaped candy mold. I also had her glue rice to contstruction paper to make the letter A, and had her circle upper and lower case A's on a homemade worksheet. 

Also this week was a local talk by the amazing Susan Wise Bauer! She spoke on what classical education is, and how it works. I didn't find out she was going to be speaking until that morning, but my husband arranged his schedule so I could go. I got to meet her, ask her some questions about Michael's progress in his writing program, and of course get an autograph. I thought about going back up in line so I could get a picture with her, but thought that might be crossing the line from fan to stalker. Either way,  I'm finding myself much more motivated and that feeling seems to be carrying over into Michael's attitude as well.  

Ok, I'm going to try to actually remember to update this thing from time to time. Remind me if I don't! I think if I look at it as an excuse to avoid housework I should do just fine :)

Right now my oldest is 13 and more into minecraft servers than schoolwork. We are using Sonlight Core H for history and literature and a subscription to Bible Mesh, through them, for an overview of the New Testament. For the most part he likes these programs, or at least doesn't complain, which is really all I can ask of a 13 year old boy. We've also used a few of the What's in the Bible? DVD series  , which he does complain about but has also secretly finds humorous in parts. I'm really impressed with how much information they present without stepping on denominational toes.

The almost 3 year old is ready for more "school" involvement so I'm working on getting our local preschool co-op back on track. Our first lesson of the semester will be based on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? My First Reader. I love the simple cadence of this book and find that the rhythem helps little ones pay attention. I spent yesterday making felt board pieces and will have hubby make up the flannel board this weekend. I read about using stiff interfacing, from the fabric section, for the pieces and it seems to have worked really well. I was able to see through it just well enough to trace the images and then I colored them in. I used sharpie markers but crayons work well too. The rough fabric just wears down the crayon fast and I was feeling guilty for dulling my daughter's crayons. I'm also planning on a color sorting activity for this lesson and a song - probably "Five Bears in the Bed".  Watch for an update next week to see if it all works out as planned!

I'll also update soon on our adventures in math and spanish curriculum hopping, and share where we ended up and why. In the meantime it is currently 80 degrees out there, and I still have errands to run and cleaning to do.

Chinese New Year

We recently attended the local Chinese New Year festivities  downtown. We had a great time watching the Lion Dance, also called Dragon Dance. We learned that dragons are vegetarian and are attracted to the local shops by the cabbage (and envelopes of money) the shopkeepers hang in front of the store. We saw kung fu demonstrations and were totally overwhelmed by the firecrackers. Michael had fun filming everything and the baby thought the Kung Fu was fascinating.

yes, we are still here :)

I haven't been posting simply because we've been too busy actually schooling and living. But we are definitely still on track. We had a great Halloween and Thanksgiving and are now closing in on Christmas.  I'm trying to incorporate the holidays even if we don't do a full unit study on them.  So we learned about the history of Hannukah and lit a menorah on Monday. Yesterday we watched a PBS documentary on the childhood of Jesus. Today we will watch the History Channel special "Christmas Unwrapped" and continue to read aloud from Dickens.

We have added in The Story of the World,, both the book and the activity guide, which corresponds to the The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia perfectly.  I read aloud the chapter in Story of the World, then Michale reads the corresponding pages in the Kingfisher book independently. We do the map work and the tests as well.  He really likes it and it adds a bit of context to the reading we were already doing.

I also purchased Typing Instructor For Kids Platinum (Windows/Mac), as it was on sale and I had a gift certificate to Amazon. Michael has done very well with the free program we were using so I felt justified upgrading.  Today he actually did more lessons than assigned, so I think that was the right decision!

Our other big change is in writing. Rather than plugging along we are backtracking a bit, to pick up some of the foundational skills that the public schools just didn't cover. The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease: Instructor Text (The Complete Writer) is our guide in this. On the advice of more experienced schoolers we are working our way through levels 2-4 at an accelerated pace. The objective is to use dictation and narration to build up the mental skills one  needs to write well.  An excellent lecture on the reasoning behind this is found here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/elementary-grades-mp3.html. It is WELL worth the 3 dollar price tag.  If you have young children I can't recommended it highly enough!

I know it probably seems like we have made a lot of detours and course corrections in our homeschooling journey this year. My thought is that one of the benefits of homeschooling is being able to tailor the education to the child's needs. This first year is all about determining those needs and finding the programs that best serve them.  So far I've been very happy with all the curriculum choices we have made, some have just been a better fit than others. Some educational testing that Michael had done last week may give me even more insight regarding his strengths and weaknesses, and help me to help him even more.

On a totally different note I realized one of the benefits of homeschooling this week.  We've all been pretty sick, and not up to doing "regular" schoolwork. However, rather than waste the time entirely we've watched several documentaries each day, and read aloud, and read independently.  I feel that we've covered our Science, Social Studies, and Religion objectives for the week while getting to stay curled up on the couch under blankets!

Fun lessons ahead!

      

We are getting ready to start a 3 week unit study on Halloween/Day of the Dead/All Saints Day/Autumn.  This is our first holiday unit and I'm REALLY excited!  I think this is a great opportunity to make school fun while taking the time to enjoy the holiday as a family.  I thought I would share some of our plans for anyone wanting to adapt them for themselves.

Literature:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman.  There are lesson plans for 
this book on various websites.  So far I like the ones here.        
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. This will most likely be a read aloud selection due to the difficult and arcane language. (I saw a picture book version of this at Barnes and Noble for those with younger students.)

Writing:
Writing epitaphs for various famous or fictional characters for gravestones to decorate the yard.

Art
Various Halloween decorations.
Making leaf rubbings.
Making headstone rubbings.

Music:
Listening to Danse Macabre and discussing the ideas presented in it.

Science:
Reading about bats and spiders.
Researching why leaves change color in the fall.
Doing experiments regarding fall leaves.

History/Social Studies
Watching the Haunted History of Halloween
Reading about the Day of the Dead and making food crafts.
Reading about the Celts and Druids
Reading about harvest festivals and attending a local one.
 
We will continue with our regular grammar, math, spanish, typing, and writing assignments during this time, as appropriate. (adding in fun things like Halloween Mad Libs for fun when we can.)

If anyone has any other ideas to share feel free to post them!

another change...

The The Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World is a great book for the history of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. But it unfortunately doesn't have any information on the ancient megaliths in England or the Celts. In fact the only reference is one sentence about the Druids making human sacrifices.  Not exactly a great introduction. So to fill things out I purchased The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia, which covers more cultures but in a different format. Instead of focusing on one culture at a time like the Usborne book it is strictly chronological. So one page will cover the megaliths of England then the next page will discuss the ancient peoples of the Indus Valley, and then move on to the Hittite empire.  Many people use it exactly as is, and I REALLY do love the chronological approach. I'm not willing to give up the unit studies completely though, so I think we will use both books and pull what we need from them.

This week Michael was begging for Science.  This from the kid that said he hated science in school!!  If nothing else this subject has made homeschooling worthwhile. He chose a water filtration experiment that involved making a multi stage filter.  He leaned about physical and chemical filters and about drinking water safety.  He even helped clean up the mess!

Then on Thursday he chose to go to the Science Center instead of our weekly Rollerskating activity.  He got to see what he would weigh on various planets and I got to explain the relationship of gravity, mass, and weight.  He also used a green screen to create a televised weather forecast and used a real telegraph machine to send a message in Morse code.

My biggest fear this year was math, as Michael was NOT ready for a 5th grade curriculum.  I knew I wanted to spend time making sure he really understood the basics but I also wanted to catch him up.  I am happy to say that we are definitely on track and should be able to finish out very respectably by the end of the year. His other big delay was in Grammar, which apparantly is not taught in public school anymore.  Neither my son nor his friend from the same school knew what an adjective or verb were!!!! Kid Libs (Mad Libs) to the rescue!!!!  Michael loves them and in less than 48 hours had leaned the basic parts of speech.  Now we are baby stepping our way though Growing with Grammar 5 and he is doing great!

Making a change!

We're almost 5 weeks into school now and I'm starting to see what works for us and what doesn't. I love our unit study approach and Rosetta Stone. I've switched to a website called quizlet for vocabulary, instead of writing them on index cards. I'm using more typing games and less tutorials.  And I've decided not to buy the next unit of Tapestry of Grace. 


I want to be clear, it's a great program. If I was teaching Highschool I'd probably love it. But right now it feels a bit too scheduled and confining for me. This is Michael's last year of elementary school and I want to keep things fun.  I don't think we need all the worksheets and scheduled discussions just now. And I hate rushing him through the reading.  So we are going to work our way through The Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World: Internet Linked (History Encyclopedias) instead. We will still add in additional books from the library, but I will pick ones that look interesting and let him read at his own pace.  We will still do map work and time line entries of course. I will probably keep using Map Aids and Writing Aids. Both have worked really well.  I am really having him focus on prewriting skills right now, as well as paragraph construction.  I think spending more time on this will lead to an easier time teaching the actual writing later on.  


I'm nervous about venturing off the beaten path, but excited too!

catching up

We've all had the nasty upper respiratory virus that is going around.  Between the Labor Day holiday, being sick, and Michael going to his gifted enrichment program at the public school once a week we haven't gotten a ton done. We have kept up on the history readings, and done math and vocabulary.  Spanish, Typing, and Ettiquitte have been sporadic, but i figure those are things he wouldn't be getting at all in public school so anything accomplished is better than nothing.

brushing salt off of the mummified apple

For science this week we finished the mummified apple project and watched a History documentary on Egyptian influences on modern medicine.

I got to impress him with my roller skating skills on Thursday; he didn't think I'd even be able to stand on them! He has a friend there that he skates with, and its great exercise for both of us. He starts up a PE group tomorrow as well.  Add in time playing with friends and swimming in the pool (not to mention climbing on the furniture) and I think we have PE more than covered :)


For our religious studies I ordered a new Bible curriculum..  I've been lax in his religious education over while he was in public school and we really need something to get him up to speed. Tapestry of Grace does include Bible readings but we need more than that. I  think this one will help us really dig deep and apply what we read. The priest at our former church  was nice enough to offer to send some materials that she uses to teach fifth graders, a bonus I wasn't expecting. Now it will be a matter of making the time to get it all done!

a mummified apple a day...

 Actually, it takes seven days to mummify an apple.At least that is what the directions say - we are still waiting to take the final measurements. Michael really enjoyed weighing the apples, creating the various salt mixtures, and recording the data.  Now I have 8 cups lined up on my counter and I'm praying that the control apple slice doesn't attract flies.  I guess that is the price we pay for good science :)

We also took a trip to the local Science Center where Michael got to feel a hurricane simulation and redirect streams of water with plastic dams.  I think the highlight though was holding fossilized dinosaur poo


Our other studies are going well.  I have switched the vocabulary assignment from paper based to computer based. Quizlet is a website that creates virtual flashcards, games, and tests based on the information you enter. The best part is that others have already entered in the Tapestry of Grace vocabulary lists, so it was no work for me at all!

Tomorrow he goes to the gifted program at the local elementary school. He's excited to see his friends but a bit bummed about going to bed and getting up earlier.  I think it will be a refreshing change of pace for him once a week.

Busy Week

This week has been non stop!  On top of our normal studies Michael pulled all of the old plants out of the garden and prepared the ground for new ones. He helped choose some vegetables to grow and planted them.  He's also watering them everyday and will be doing most or all of the weeding.  We both felt that getting outside and getting some fresh air first thing in the morning helps the day off to a better start. He certainly seemed able to sit still more easily afterwards.

This week also was our first time schooling outside of the house.  Ean had some conference calls to make from home, so we went to Starbucks to do our school work and have some breakfast.  This seemed like a great plan but there were horseflies of some sort flying around the seating area, so we left as soon as he was done with Math. I ended 
up reading his music book to him in the parking lot of the pool supply store while the baby napped in her car seat. Each section of the book has a corresponding track on the CD that comes with it, so we listen to those as well. Michael also got to watch the employee do various tests for ph, chlorine, and buffering capacities on the water sample before we left the pool store.  Then it was back home to finish up our school work.

Also this week were two skating events for homeschoolers.  Yesterday was ice skating on a very nice rink.  Michael had a great time despite not knowing how to ice skate. I was amazed at how polite the children were. They made eye contatct, smiled, and generally were just wonderful.  Very refreshing.  Today was roller skating at a brand new facility and Michael was more in his element.  He made friends with two boys around his age and they spent the whole time racing each other.  Michael had finished all his written work earlier, and got quite a lot of reading done in the car going to and from the skating rink.  We also collected ALL of the library books from the far corners of the house and returned them. We had 29 items checked out!!

The only thing that didn't go well this week was art. Michael enjoyed learning about the art of Egypt, and did well explaining it to me.  He did not enjoy making his own art though, so I will need to get more creative in that area.  I think clay or other more physical mediums make work best.  Otherwise the week has been a great success so far.

A cookie map of Egypt

For our hands on project this week Michael made a map of Egypt using cookie dough.
 He molded it into shape and carved out the Nile and the Red Sea before we baked it.

Then he painted the water blue and labeled the Nile. We made circles and pyramid shapes with the left over dough and painted hieroglyphics on them. We used this sugar cookie recipe, and love it. The cookie stayed together very well and didn't spread out when baked. We used this icing recipe because it was the only one I could find that didn't use raw eggs. It worked GREAT and dried to a hard, shiny finish.  I am going to use both recipes for Christmas cookies this year.

I think Michael definitely will remember the geography of Egypt now!

A day in the life....

Heart of the Matter has been hosting different blog topics in the last few weeks, and this week's topic was "A day in the life". With that in mind this is a photographic journal of our Thursday:

The baby had me up very early, so after I had breakfast I had time to start on the laundry.  I also made sure to put all the school books we needed for the day on the dining room table as well as Michael's schedule for the day.

I use Homeschool Tracker, the free basic addition, for all my lesson plans. I print his assignments before I go to bed at night, and then put them on the table with his books in the morning.

At that point the baby was getting sleepy, and since it was only 7am  I was more than willing to go back to bed. I wrote a note for Michael instructing him to have a bowl of cereal and then read The Golden Goblet until I woke up.  I was able to nap for almost an hour and he got a jumpstart on his reading for the day. A win win situation!

Once I was up Michael wanted to do his typing and spanish lessons, which he claims are his least favorite part of school.  He is doing really well with both of them though, and I think he is starting to like both of them now that he can see some improvement.  When he didn't like his score on Rosetta Stone he voluntarily did the lesson again, getting 100% the second time!  He is doing just as well with the typing and seems eager to learn more letters so he can type real words.  The instant feedback seems to be the key with both of these programs.

After that we laid on the bed and I read to him from Stand Up, Shake Hands, Say How Do You Do: What Boys Need to Know About Today's Manners.  We have a 1950's copy from when my husband took an etiquette class and I find that most of it still applies today.  We read the section on phone etiquette and spent a while discussing why dealing with someone that is physically present takes precedence over someone you are dealing with on the phone.  After that I asked Michael to look up his vocabulary words in the dictionary.  He chose to do this on the floor so he could be near his baby sister as she played :)

This freed me up to start some pasta sauce that could simmer  in the crockpot all day.  We try to eat healthy, whole food meals but with a baby in the house it has to be planned ahead of time.  Also, we were picking up my husband at the airport that evening  and I wanted something that would be ready as soon as we got home. It worked out perfectly and we ate the leftovers for lunch the next day.
When Michael finished his vocabulary he joined me in the kitchen and had his snack. Every morning we make sure to take a break an have our
elevenses, as hungry children don't learn well.

 After the break is math, which Michael is able to do fairly independently.
When he is done I check his work and go over the topic again if need be. Our final subject for the day is Science.  We did an experiment on sedimentation, relating it to the way the Nile river deposits silt  in the delta area.  Michael recorded the results in his notebook, and then together we put away all the school supplies and books.

We had lunch, and I gave Michael some chores to do, an then he was allowed to go outside and play until it was time to pick up Ean from the airport. All in all a pretty good day!
                                                                                      

When is just as important as how....

Over the week I've come to the conclusion that we absolutely have to finish all schoolwork before 2pm.  Anything left after that inspires a poor attitude in both student and teacher. By late afternoon the baby is getting fussier, I'm feeling the crunch of dinner planning, and the neighborhood kids are knocking on the door wanting to play.  Not exactly the best learning environment.  So the new rule is all work must be done before the local school lets out for the day at 2:45.  As long as we don't take too many breaks or get too side tracked that gives up plenty of time for all our schoolwork and basic household chores.

Gaining Momentum

First grammar lesson.

Today went very well despite me being sleep deprived after a rough night with the baby.  Michael was great though, and read his history assignment when I took an hour long nap after breakfast. Once I was up he asked to do his typing lesson first, to "get it over with." I must say that I'm very proud of him for getting his least favorite subjects over with first, rather than putting them off or stalling!  He did very well, and even asked to play one of the games!! He also did his Spanish lesson without complaining!!
Today was his first Grammar lesson, which he had no trouble with. The format of Growing with Grammar allows for the student to work independently, freeing me up to feed the baby. The only difficulty was keeping the dogs out of the way.

The peanut gallery.

Writing today was a bit more of a struggle. His assignment was to make a list of goals for the school year.  After convincing him that "GoaLz" was not an acceptable way to title the page he managed to come up with three, including "a short school year."  At least he was honest :)  The etiquette lesson went better, probably because it was about polite usage of cell phones.   

His math work was excellent, and he seems to really enjoy his vocabulary work. He knew the basic meanings of several of the words from reading The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1), but insisted on looking them up in the dictionary to get the complete definition.  He doesn't get that kind of perfectionism from me, that's for sure!!

In the afternoon a friend came by to show us how to change out a car battery. Michael and I watched closely and I feel pretty confident we could do it ourselves next time.  Then we finished the schoolday by reading aloud a few pages from Story of the Orchestra  and then listening to the corresponding tracks from Wagner and Vivaldi in the car on the way to the grocery store.  Michael greatly preferred the Wagner, saying it sounded more like Star Wars theme music. He also said that "there are not enough words in the universe" to say how much better it was than music class at his old school :)

snuggled up watching a documentary

Before bed we watched

 Egypt - Engineering an Empire on Netlix. I had planned on only watching the first 30 minutes but he was so engrossed that we watched the entire hour an a half!  Excellent program, and I look forward to watching the rest of the series when we study Rome.