I'm so sorry that I haven't posted this week at all. It's been a busy one! We had our last day of VBS on Tuesday. Our church does it one day a week for an entire month. It's worked out better for us that way. I was in charge of teaching the Bible lessons which were a particular challenge in that I wasn't using a canned curriculum. I needed to prepare them -- from scratch! That is always a situation in which I am stretched as I feel quite inept. I enjoy the teaching but not the preparation. The Lord helped me through it and the children seem to have retained quite a bit, so I praise the Lord for that. That Tuesday, Evelyn was sick though, so she and Jefferson were unable to stay for the water party afterward. James stayed with a friend, and we picked him up later that night. He had a blast!
I started Jefferson on green beans again on Wednesday. So far so good -- I think. We had 7 dirty diapers in a 24-hour period from Friday to Saturday. His little behind started getting quite raw, and I was a little nervous since we had had an issue about two weeks ago that took me awhile to clear up. But he seems to be okay now, and I'm not ready to attribute the bowel issues to the green beans -- yet. We'll have to see how it continues to go! He's starting not to like the chicken. Honestly, I can't blame him. His diet is still so limited at this point, but he has to eat it. I'm going to look into turkey options for this week. He turned his nose up at turkey several months ago, so I haven't given it to him since, but maybe he's ready for another change.
He also enjoyed his therapy session on Thursday, and I did too -- amazingly enough! I now have hope that his therapy may accomplish the intended goal of encouraging him to speak. Along those lines, he continued saying "Mama" and "Bapa" for Grandma and Grandpa, but he added "Roro" for Nana. We all laugh because we don't know where he got it, but it's either "Bapa" and "Roro" for Papa and Nana, "Bapa" and "Mama" for Grandpa and Grandma, or "Dada" and "Mama" for Daddy and Mommy. He's also getting a little better at saying water. I think it's finally sounding like "wawa". Ahhhhh, progress!
I was supposed to have my homeschool supplies ordered by this weekend, but that did not happen. I'm not even sure it's going to happen by this weekend, but hopefully by the beginning of next week. Once I order, I'll let you all know my big plans for the school year, but I'm too methodical in this process, so it may still be awhile!
I'll quit for now. I'll try to update more frequently with shorter posts this coming week. :-) We have doctor's appointments on Monday and Tuesday and therapy on Wednesday, and Ryan and Evelyn leave for SC on Friday. Busy, busy, busy!
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschooling. Show all posts
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
James -- an artist?
This weekend, for those of you who are my facebook friends, you will have noticed that I went to the library sale. It was $5 a bag day. So, I picked up 2 bags worth. We're still trying to determine where the majority of them will go! (On the side, I haven't even ordered my homeschooling materials yet, and we're already short on space!)
One of the books that I managed to find a home for was an Usborne book -- I Can Draw Animals. I've purchased drawing books before, but James has not shown an interest, but I thought I would just put it in the playroom and maybe he would pick it up and attempt a few.
Here is what he showed me when his rest time was over yesterday.
It brought tears to my eyes! I was really proud of his effort.
One of the books that I managed to find a home for was an Usborne book -- I Can Draw Animals. I've purchased drawing books before, but James has not shown an interest, but I thought I would just put it in the playroom and maybe he would pick it up and attempt a few.
Here is what he showed me when his rest time was over yesterday.
It brought tears to my eyes! I was really proud of his effort.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Homeschooling: Kindergarten Edition -- Math
I'm almost embarrassed to post again. I completely forgot about last week's post. By the time a friend alerted me, I was too behind and too busy to post. So, I'll try to include an extra little treat at the end (if I can figure out how to upload it!).
I'm thrilled though that this week is Math because James finished his Primer level this week! I filled out his first certificate that he wants to keep in his room, and we have officially started on the Alpha level.
We use Math-U-See as our curriculum. If you do much reading on homeschooling, math is one of those subjects that everybody has a strong opinion on. I don't. I've read about waiting to start math until they're 10 years old, I'm just not brave enough to try it. I've read about teaching straight math facts whether or not they understand what they're learning, and I've read about taking a gentle approach to learning math.
Math-U-See is a very gentle approach, in my opinion. I'm still not quite sure why I chose it except that it seemed to present the material in a practical way. It is also recommended on Ambleside Online (a Charlotte Mason community). James understands what he's learning, and it's exciting to see! Math-U-See sets a foundation for future algebraic equations as well. Believe it or not, story problems were introduced in the Primer level as well as solving for an unknown. It is very gentle and not at all hard for him, and I don't think it's because he is gifted. I'm not convinced that he is in math.
Math-U-See uses manipulatives to teach the concepts. The manipulatives are colored rods for each number 1-10 and they have blocks for the hundreds. The rods can also be used as building blocks (Legos idea) and my children have enjoyed that aspect as well! As with any curriculum, you can modify exactly how you use it. I found that the manipulatives greatly added to understanding what was being taught. In fact, today, as I was making out some subtraction flashcards, I asked him what 9-1 was. He hesitated and then said 8. Then he said, "I remembered how I built it, Mommy."
Math-U-See also introduces place value in a unique and gentle way so that the child understands what 359 is. He understands that there are 3 hundreds, 50 tens, and 9 ones. That's amazing to me!
In the Primer level, he was gently introduced to writing the numerals, using the colored rods, adding +1 up through 10, adding double numbers (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.), adding combinations of numbers that equal 10 (6+4, 7+3, 8+2, etc.), telling time and subtracting by 1. As he learned each concept, I made flashcards to go along with them. Math-U-See also introduced adding the tens. For example, after he learned all of the +1 equations (1+1, 2+1, 3+1, etc.), he learned 10+10, 20+10, 30+10, etc. I decided to add the hundreds to it and made flashcards for 100+100, 200+100, etc. He had absolutely no trouble understanding what it meant after I explained it the first time.
I have enjoyed doing math with James, and he enjoys it as well. It ranks up there with his favorite subjects. Actually, the only subjects he doesn't like are piano (wouldn't you know that I'm a piano teacher) and German. Oh, well.
I'm thrilled though that this week is Math because James finished his Primer level this week! I filled out his first certificate that he wants to keep in his room, and we have officially started on the Alpha level.
We use Math-U-See as our curriculum. If you do much reading on homeschooling, math is one of those subjects that everybody has a strong opinion on. I don't. I've read about waiting to start math until they're 10 years old, I'm just not brave enough to try it. I've read about teaching straight math facts whether or not they understand what they're learning, and I've read about taking a gentle approach to learning math.
Math-U-See is a very gentle approach, in my opinion. I'm still not quite sure why I chose it except that it seemed to present the material in a practical way. It is also recommended on Ambleside Online (a Charlotte Mason community). James understands what he's learning, and it's exciting to see! Math-U-See sets a foundation for future algebraic equations as well. Believe it or not, story problems were introduced in the Primer level as well as solving for an unknown. It is very gentle and not at all hard for him, and I don't think it's because he is gifted. I'm not convinced that he is in math.
Math-U-See uses manipulatives to teach the concepts. The manipulatives are colored rods for each number 1-10 and they have blocks for the hundreds. The rods can also be used as building blocks (Legos idea) and my children have enjoyed that aspect as well! As with any curriculum, you can modify exactly how you use it. I found that the manipulatives greatly added to understanding what was being taught. In fact, today, as I was making out some subtraction flashcards, I asked him what 9-1 was. He hesitated and then said 8. Then he said, "I remembered how I built it, Mommy."
Math-U-See also introduces place value in a unique and gentle way so that the child understands what 359 is. He understands that there are 3 hundreds, 50 tens, and 9 ones. That's amazing to me!
In the Primer level, he was gently introduced to writing the numerals, using the colored rods, adding +1 up through 10, adding double numbers (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, etc.), adding combinations of numbers that equal 10 (6+4, 7+3, 8+2, etc.), telling time and subtracting by 1. As he learned each concept, I made flashcards to go along with them. Math-U-See also introduced adding the tens. For example, after he learned all of the +1 equations (1+1, 2+1, 3+1, etc.), he learned 10+10, 20+10, 30+10, etc. I decided to add the hundreds to it and made flashcards for 100+100, 200+100, etc. He had absolutely no trouble understanding what it meant after I explained it the first time.
I have enjoyed doing math with James, and he enjoys it as well. It ranks up there with his favorite subjects. Actually, the only subjects he doesn't like are piano (wouldn't you know that I'm a piano teacher) and German. Oh, well.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Homeschooling: Kindergarten Edition -- Bible
(Edit: My apologies to you who viewed this earlier. I was aware that the hyperlinks were not working last night, but there was nothing I could do about it. Blogger wouldn't cooperate! They're all working now, so feel free to click away!)
Welcome to another edition of Homeschooling: Kindergarten Edition! I briefly covered the methods that we're loosely following in my last post. If you want to get caught up, please read that first.
Today, I wanted to tell you about what we do first in the morning. After our Morning Routine, we all sit down to breakfast. Ideally, I have already eaten breakfast with my husband and cleaned up. So it's usually just the kids who are eating.
I begin by quoting the week's memory verse 3-5 times. I've struggled with whether or not we do this memory work. Both James and Evelyn have Sunday School verses and we have a family verse that we memorize as well. This week, however, we are doing the "school" memory verse.
After reviewing the "school" memory verse, I follow with our Scripture reading that corresponds to the Bible lesson for the day. We are using Covenant Home's Bible curriculum for Kindergarten. I don't believe that I'll ever agree with any book 100%, but I do like the fact that this Bible module is from a reformed perspective.
Oftentimes the Scripture reading is very long -- sometimes more than 3 chapters! I would like to cut this down and make it shorter, and I know of several moms who do/did. The problem is my 5 year old! When I say, "Wow! This is a long reading today. Maybe I should shorten it", he BEGS me to read the entire thing including genealogies! He loves the Scripture, and there is nothing that thrills me more. So, I've just come to the conclusion that I will read the entire passage of Scripture no matter how long it takes.
Another specific quirk of my son is that he LOVES to discuss ideas and philosophies. This is a potential problem for me as I struggle to keep on schedule for the day. But, one of the main reasons that we homeschool is to pass on our worldview to our children. If they wish to discuss issues, we desire to teach and instruct in the ways of the Lord. James will discuss anything all day long! He loves to ask questions, find out the whys of our beliefs and tell us what he thinks. So, often our Bible lesson generates many questions.
After the Scripture reading, I read from the Bible storybook. As I mentioned before, it's from a reformed perspective, so I appreciate the emphasis on the covenants of God and God's sovereignty. James enjoys this reading and Evelyn is beginning to pay attention more closely.
Next, I review both children's Sunday School verses with them. I usually quote them 3-5 times and by the third day, they're both usually saying them with me.
Then we do catechisms. I am doing the child's catechism with Evelyn which has shorter questions and answers. It's divided into 2 sections -- history and doctrine. I'm hoping to get through all of it by the time she's 5 years old, but I never accomplished that with James. My philosophy is that something's better than nothing! We've started working on the Westminster Shorter Catechism with James. He's currently on question 10.
Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image,[26] in knowledge,[27] righteousness, and holiness,[28] with dominion over the creatures.[29]
The reason that we've started with the Shorter Catechism already is two-fold. 1) He's ready. He loves to memorize and is quite good at it. He also seems to comprehend most of it. For me, comprehension is not a prerequisite to memorization though. Following the classical model, I like to encourage memorization and then go back when he's able to understand (in the logic stage) to explain. We will most likely review the Shorter Catechism until Junior High, at least. 2) It was intended for children. The Larger Catechism was written for adults, but the Shorter Catechism was written for young children. In today's "dumbed-down" society, I want to encourage my children to think the thoughts of God and to stretch their vocabulary and reasoning ability beyond what is "expected" at their age level.
When I first introduce a question, I'll read the question and answer 5 times. Then we're done. The next day, I'll do the same. He's welcome to join in at any time. Once he starts saying, "I know it, Mom", I'll let him try it on his own until he gets it right, gently correcting his mistakes. He usually learns a question in 1 week, but some questions have taken 2 weeks. James seems to enjoy this as well as I do.
After catechisms, we usually sing a song to work on memorizing the books of the Bible, then we sing a few verses of the hymn we're learning for the month. Closing out our session is prayer.
I've made a prayer book for each of the children with each page naming a different person, and I've included a picture if there is one available. (I need to get some more printed from Snapfish!) We pray for a different person/couple/situation each day, and they each pray for one aspect regarding that person/couple/situation.
I've probably bored you to death, but that is what we do for Bible each day!
Welcome to another edition of Homeschooling: Kindergarten Edition! I briefly covered the methods that we're loosely following in my last post. If you want to get caught up, please read that first.
Today, I wanted to tell you about what we do first in the morning. After our Morning Routine, we all sit down to breakfast. Ideally, I have already eaten breakfast with my husband and cleaned up. So it's usually just the kids who are eating.
I begin by quoting the week's memory verse 3-5 times. I've struggled with whether or not we do this memory work. Both James and Evelyn have Sunday School verses and we have a family verse that we memorize as well. This week, however, we are doing the "school" memory verse.
After reviewing the "school" memory verse, I follow with our Scripture reading that corresponds to the Bible lesson for the day. We are using Covenant Home's Bible curriculum for Kindergarten. I don't believe that I'll ever agree with any book 100%, but I do like the fact that this Bible module is from a reformed perspective.
Oftentimes the Scripture reading is very long -- sometimes more than 3 chapters! I would like to cut this down and make it shorter, and I know of several moms who do/did. The problem is my 5 year old! When I say, "Wow! This is a long reading today. Maybe I should shorten it", he BEGS me to read the entire thing including genealogies! He loves the Scripture, and there is nothing that thrills me more. So, I've just come to the conclusion that I will read the entire passage of Scripture no matter how long it takes.
Another specific quirk of my son is that he LOVES to discuss ideas and philosophies. This is a potential problem for me as I struggle to keep on schedule for the day. But, one of the main reasons that we homeschool is to pass on our worldview to our children. If they wish to discuss issues, we desire to teach and instruct in the ways of the Lord. James will discuss anything all day long! He loves to ask questions, find out the whys of our beliefs and tell us what he thinks. So, often our Bible lesson generates many questions.
After the Scripture reading, I read from the Bible storybook. As I mentioned before, it's from a reformed perspective, so I appreciate the emphasis on the covenants of God and God's sovereignty. James enjoys this reading and Evelyn is beginning to pay attention more closely.
Next, I review both children's Sunday School verses with them. I usually quote them 3-5 times and by the third day, they're both usually saying them with me.
Then we do catechisms. I am doing the child's catechism with Evelyn which has shorter questions and answers. It's divided into 2 sections -- history and doctrine. I'm hoping to get through all of it by the time she's 5 years old, but I never accomplished that with James. My philosophy is that something's better than nothing! We've started working on the Westminster Shorter Catechism with James. He's currently on question 10.
Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image,[26] in knowledge,[27] righteousness, and holiness,[28] with dominion over the creatures.[29]
The reason that we've started with the Shorter Catechism already is two-fold. 1) He's ready. He loves to memorize and is quite good at it. He also seems to comprehend most of it. For me, comprehension is not a prerequisite to memorization though. Following the classical model, I like to encourage memorization and then go back when he's able to understand (in the logic stage) to explain. We will most likely review the Shorter Catechism until Junior High, at least. 2) It was intended for children. The Larger Catechism was written for adults, but the Shorter Catechism was written for young children. In today's "dumbed-down" society, I want to encourage my children to think the thoughts of God and to stretch their vocabulary and reasoning ability beyond what is "expected" at their age level.
When I first introduce a question, I'll read the question and answer 5 times. Then we're done. The next day, I'll do the same. He's welcome to join in at any time. Once he starts saying, "I know it, Mom", I'll let him try it on his own until he gets it right, gently correcting his mistakes. He usually learns a question in 1 week, but some questions have taken 2 weeks. James seems to enjoy this as well as I do.
After catechisms, we usually sing a song to work on memorizing the books of the Bible, then we sing a few verses of the hymn we're learning for the month. Closing out our session is prayer.
I've made a prayer book for each of the children with each page naming a different person, and I've included a picture if there is one available. (I need to get some more printed from Snapfish!) We pray for a different person/couple/situation each day, and they each pray for one aspect regarding that person/couple/situation.
I've probably bored you to death, but that is what we do for Bible each day!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Making Your Home a Haven
(This was partially written and supposed to be published yesterday. However, I wanted to insert a table, as you can see. To make a long story short, I've learned, learned to use, and used html all in the last 24 hours! In fact, I hand-typed all of the html code to format the table below. Maybe for some of you, that's second-nature, but it's not for me, and I'm rather proud of myself right now! So....even if you don't read the schedule I've posted, could you please admire the work that I've done, however imperfect it may be? Thank you!)
(Edit:I'm not sure why Jefferson's schedule is only partially showing. I guess that's more for me to learn, but not this go-round (is that even a word?). He's not even 1 1/2 yet, so I'm sure nobody's too disappointed to not be able to see what he's scheduled to do!)
I am excited about this weekly addition to Crystal's blog! I have so much that I would like to do in our home, but I need a little structure and smaller goals to prod me on to accomplish great things. With that said, my first priority this weekend was to tweak our homeschool schedule. Of course, since today was my first day on our schedule, I didn't stick to it much at all. I also had a sick child, needed to take time to teach all of the new aspects of our schedule and had to get my children out of doors. It's 65 degrees on January 7 in Indiana! Who'd have thunk it?
I'm posting our schedule more for my own accountability than for your information. (That's really what this blog was about in the first place.) So, here's our new Winter/Spring 2008 Family Schedule!
As an aside, I would not normally spend only 15 minutes with my husband per night, but he's working on his MBA right now. He likes to do as much on the weeknight evenings as he can, so that he can, theoretically, have more time with the kids on the weekends. In 1 1/2 years, we'll start spending some more time together!
(Edit:I'm not sure why Jefferson's schedule is only partially showing. I guess that's more for me to learn, but not this go-round (is that even a word?). He's not even 1 1/2 yet, so I'm sure nobody's too disappointed to not be able to see what he's scheduled to do!)
I am excited about this weekly addition to Crystal's blog! I have so much that I would like to do in our home, but I need a little structure and smaller goals to prod me on to accomplish great things. With that said, my first priority this weekend was to tweak our homeschool schedule. Of course, since today was my first day on our schedule, I didn't stick to it much at all. I also had a sick child, needed to take time to teach all of the new aspects of our schedule and had to get my children out of doors. It's 65 degrees on January 7 in Indiana! Who'd have thunk it?
I'm posting our schedule more for my own accountability than for your information. (That's really what this blog was about in the first place.) So, here's our new Winter/Spring 2008 Family Schedule!
| Dovey | James | Evelyn | Jefferson | ||||||||
| 5:30 | Shower/Dress/ Prepare Breakfast/ Quiet Time/ Exercise | ||||||||||
| 7:00 | 7:15 -- open James' door and turn off fan | ||||||||||
| 7:30 | Help James and Evelyn/ Bible time with Evelyn/ Jefferson up | Rise/Morning Routine | Rise/Morning Routine | 7:50-up | |||||||
| 8:00 | Do Bible time w/kids while feeding Jefferson | Breakfast/Bible time | Breakfast/Bible time | Breakfast/Bible time | |||||||
| 8:30 | Morning Chores | Morning Chores | Morning Chores | free play | |||||||
| 9:00 | Handwriting & Math w/James | Handwriting & Math | Letter Factory video | Letter Factory video | |||||||
| 9:30 | Calendar, Journal, Phonics & Reading | Calendar, Journal, Phonics & Reading | play alone | pack 'n' play | |||||||
| 10:00 | History, Science, Read-Alouds | History, Science, Read-Alouds | Free Play/Join us if desired | free play | |||||||
| 10:30 | Play w/Jefferson | Play w/Evelyn | Play w/James | Play w/Mommy | |||||||
| 11:00 | School w/Evelyn | Play w/Jefferson | School w/Mommy | Play w/James | |||||||
| 11:30 | Daily dusting or vacuuming | Daily dusting or vacuuming | Daily dusting or vacuuming | Free Play | |||||||
| 12:00 | Lunch prep w/helper | Straighten House/Help Mommy w/lunch | Straighten House/Help Mommy w/lunch | Free Play | |||||||
| 12:30 | Lunch & Clean-up | Lunch & Clean-up | Lunch & Clean-up | Lunch & Clean-up | |||||||
| 1:00 | Read-aloud book | Read-aloud book | Read-aloud book | Nap | |||||||
| 1:30 | Piano lessons/practice w/kids | Piano practice | Piano practice | Nap | |||||||
| 2:00- 4:00 | Scheduled day’s activities/Teach | Rest Time | Nap/Rest Time | Nap | |||||||
| 4:00 | Free | German on computer (15 min.) | Free Play | Free Play | |||||||
| 4:30- 5:30 | Arts & Crafts/Take a walk/Game/Play time together | Arts & Crafts/Take a walk/Game/Play time together | Arts & Crafts/Take a walk/Game/Play time together | Arts & Crafts/Take a walk/Game/Play time together | |||||||
| 5:30- 6:30 | Dinner Prep w/helper | Help Mommy w/dinner/ play w/Jefferson | Help Mommy w/dinner/ play w/Jefferson | Play w/sibling | |||||||
| 6:30 | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | |||||||
| 7:00 | Dinner/Clean-up | Dinner/Clean-up | Dinner/Clean-up | Dinner/Clean-up | |||||||
| 7:30 | Morning Prep | Playtime w/Daddy/ bath time | Playtime w/Daddy/ bath time | Playtime w/Daddy/ bath time | |||||||
| 8:00 | Family Devotions | Family Devotions | Family Devotions | Family Devotions | |||||||
| 8:30 | Kids in bed/ 15 min. w/Ryan | Bedtime | Bedtime | Bedtime | Bedtime | ||||||
| 9:00- 10:00 | Personal Time | ||||||||||
| 10:00 | Upstairs to bed/Read | ||||||||||
| 10:30 | Lights out | ||||||||||
As an aside, I would not normally spend only 15 minutes with my husband per night, but he's working on his MBA right now. He likes to do as much on the weeknight evenings as he can, so that he can, theoretically, have more time with the kids on the weekends. In 1 1/2 years, we'll start spending some more time together!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Homeschooling: Kindergarten Edition
I would like to post from time to time about our homeschooling experience, since I'm just starting out. As I've mentioned before, I LOVE homeschooling!
We've been using Sonlight curriculum for going on 3 years now. I really, really like it -- most of the time. There have been a few issues that we've had to deal with, but I can get into those in future posts.
Today, I thought I would focus on the literature that it exposes students to. We used the preschool curriculum for Reader Rabbit (RR) when he was 3 and 4. He really did well with it and soaked up all the literature that was read to him. That's why we decided to continue with Sonlight for kindergarten. Here's a look at all that we've read so far. (We are 11 weeks into the school year.)
We had several of these books already and therefore did not need to purchase them this year. Although I've often wished we would have and we could have given them as gifts.
I'll just focus on a few of the books to whet your appetite!
My Father's Dragon. This book was actually recommended to us by our very close friends and RR's best friend. It's about a little boy, Elmer Elevator, who travels to rescue a baby dragon from Wild Island. He takes with him lollipops, combs, chewing gum and many other unusual items to help him in his quest. He ends up using them all! As an aside, Elmer Elevator lives in Popsicornia. My daughter, Energizer Bunny (EB), has a new imaginary friend named Popsicornia! Elmer succeeds in his quest and he and baby dragon prepare to leave.
Unfortunately, that's where the book ends. We could never leave Elmer on Tangerina (where he and the dragon flew after Wild Island), could we? So, we picked up the sequels at the library -- Elmer and the Dragon and the Dragons of Blueland. We thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We finally meet Boris' family (the baby dragon of My Father's Dragon fame) and see them safely left alone in the Blueland mountains. Even EB understood a lot of this and it was fun family time for all.
The Light at Tern Rock. We have just finished this book and it's engaging and didactic at the same time. It's about a young boy (Ronnie) and his aunt who are asked to fill in for the lighthouse keeper at Tern Rock for about a week. Ronnie is excited but hesitant as he wants to make sure he's home in time for Christmas. He is assured, by the lighthouse keeper, that he will be. December 15 (the promised pick-up date) comes and goes. By December 23, they realize that they will be spending Christmas on Tern Rock. Then on December 24, a discovery is made that challenges Ronnie's faith in mankind. This is a great work for discussing injustices with your child. I plan to read this many, many times with my children. We could have a different type of discussion each time.
Maybe in my next post, we'll discuss some of the other books.
We've been using Sonlight curriculum for going on 3 years now. I really, really like it -- most of the time. There have been a few issues that we've had to deal with, but I can get into those in future posts.
Today, I thought I would focus on the literature that it exposes students to. We used the preschool curriculum for Reader Rabbit (RR) when he was 3 and 4. He really did well with it and soaked up all the literature that was read to him. That's why we decided to continue with Sonlight for kindergarten. Here's a look at all that we've read so far. (We are 11 weeks into the school year.)
We had several of these books already and therefore did not need to purchase them this year. Although I've often wished we would have and we could have given them as gifts.
I'll just focus on a few of the books to whet your appetite!
My Father's Dragon. This book was actually recommended to us by our very close friends and RR's best friend. It's about a little boy, Elmer Elevator, who travels to rescue a baby dragon from Wild Island. He takes with him lollipops, combs, chewing gum and many other unusual items to help him in his quest. He ends up using them all! As an aside, Elmer Elevator lives in Popsicornia. My daughter, Energizer Bunny (EB), has a new imaginary friend named Popsicornia! Elmer succeeds in his quest and he and baby dragon prepare to leave.
Unfortunately, that's where the book ends. We could never leave Elmer on Tangerina (where he and the dragon flew after Wild Island), could we? So, we picked up the sequels at the library -- Elmer and the Dragon and the Dragons of Blueland. We thoroughly enjoyed all of them. We finally meet Boris' family (the baby dragon of My Father's Dragon fame) and see them safely left alone in the Blueland mountains. Even EB understood a lot of this and it was fun family time for all.
The Light at Tern Rock. We have just finished this book and it's engaging and didactic at the same time. It's about a young boy (Ronnie) and his aunt who are asked to fill in for the lighthouse keeper at Tern Rock for about a week. Ronnie is excited but hesitant as he wants to make sure he's home in time for Christmas. He is assured, by the lighthouse keeper, that he will be. December 15 (the promised pick-up date) comes and goes. By December 23, they realize that they will be spending Christmas on Tern Rock. Then on December 24, a discovery is made that challenges Ronnie's faith in mankind. This is a great work for discussing injustices with your child. I plan to read this many, many times with my children. We could have a different type of discussion each time.
Maybe in my next post, we'll discuss some of the other books.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
0 -- "I'm Just a Big Nuthin"
That's how I feel. Here I start this blog and then I can't even keep up with posting on a regular basis. Anyone else have this problem?
For those of you who didn't reconize the quote, it's from the Math Circus by LeapFrog. We've been listening to LeapFrog videos quite a bit in our house and I'm now quoting from them. Scary, huh? Ah, the life of a homeschooling mom!
We've had quite a few things happen in our lives the past few months. I won't go into much detail. But 2 weeks ago, we discovered that my oldest boy, Reader Rabbit (RR), needed glasses! Not just any glasses, but bifocals! The jury is still out on whether he will also need vision therapy in conjunction with the glasses. But doesn't he look adorable?
If anyone else is a perfectionist out there, then they will understand why I haven't been posting. I've heard that with perfectionists, often their house is worse than others. That's true. It's hard for me to do something partially if it can't be done completely the right way at one time. Thus, nothing much gets done. With 3 kids, 5 and under there aren't many opportunities to do things completely, the right way, at one time!
Hence the reason that my Ron Paul posts have not been posted. I want to write the entire article and then submit it little by little. That will not happen, so I'm just going to need to do it and let the results fall where they may.
I went to the library the other night with all 3 children, waiting for my husband in a meeting. I even took along my laptop, thinking that I would write more on my Ron Paul article. I edited the first bit and wrote all of two sentences! So much for all at one time!
Oh, and I've decided that the lovely desk from this post will have to remain in its' current state. Thankfully, my husband agrees, that for the moment, homeschooling, food preparation, house cleaning and holiday preparations need to be our/my focus. So, I'm officially dropping out of the 30-day organizational challenge!
More later....
For those of you who didn't reconize the quote, it's from the Math Circus by LeapFrog. We've been listening to LeapFrog videos quite a bit in our house and I'm now quoting from them. Scary, huh? Ah, the life of a homeschooling mom!
We've had quite a few things happen in our lives the past few months. I won't go into much detail. But 2 weeks ago, we discovered that my oldest boy, Reader Rabbit (RR), needed glasses! Not just any glasses, but bifocals! The jury is still out on whether he will also need vision therapy in conjunction with the glasses. But doesn't he look adorable?
If anyone else is a perfectionist out there, then they will understand why I haven't been posting. I've heard that with perfectionists, often their house is worse than others. That's true. It's hard for me to do something partially if it can't be done completely the right way at one time. Thus, nothing much gets done. With 3 kids, 5 and under there aren't many opportunities to do things completely, the right way, at one time!
Hence the reason that my Ron Paul posts have not been posted. I want to write the entire article and then submit it little by little. That will not happen, so I'm just going to need to do it and let the results fall where they may.
I went to the library the other night with all 3 children, waiting for my husband in a meeting. I even took along my laptop, thinking that I would write more on my Ron Paul article. I edited the first bit and wrote all of two sentences! So much for all at one time!
Oh, and I've decided that the lovely desk from this post will have to remain in its' current state. Thankfully, my husband agrees, that for the moment, homeschooling, food preparation, house cleaning and holiday preparations need to be our/my focus. So, I'm officially dropping out of the 30-day organizational challenge!
More later....
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Schooling
I absolutely LOVE homeschooling! I feel like I've been doing it since my oldest was 3. It is so much fun and so rewarding to see the progress they make. I thought I would share a few photos.
This is my oldest after he said, in frustration, "You ONLY like my 14 and my 17?"
I circle all his handwriting letters and numbers that deserve special recognition. Obviously, he disagreed with my choices.
This is my daughter as she watches the Letter Factory in the playroom during handwriting time with my oldest.
That is the only facet of our schooling in which I don't include her. My attention needs to be on the oldest. By the way, we don't watch many videos, but the Letter Factory is one that we all LOVE! It's helped immensely in teaching my oldest his letters and words and my daughter is starting to pick up on it as well. Yay!
This is my oldest as he does his math work. Believe it or not, math is his favorite subject!
And here's GB as he tries to do school too!
This is my oldest after he said, in frustration, "You ONLY like my 14 and my 17?"
I circle all his handwriting letters and numbers that deserve special recognition. Obviously, he disagreed with my choices.This is my daughter as she watches the Letter Factory in the playroom during handwriting time with my oldest.
That is the only facet of our schooling in which I don't include her. My attention needs to be on the oldest. By the way, we don't watch many videos, but the Letter Factory is one that we all LOVE! It's helped immensely in teaching my oldest his letters and words and my daughter is starting to pick up on it as well. Yay!This is my oldest as he does his math work. Believe it or not, math is his favorite subject!
And here's GB as he tries to do school too!
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