Overall a pretty good week. I would like to have us be a little more consistent with everything next week, but as we're coming off a week of Spring Break, I feel okay with what we got done.
Language Arts
Right now I am at kind of a standstill on this for Cyrus. I know what I want to use next year, but we aren't doing anything formal at the moment, and I think we should be doing more. Hmmm... I think for the next 7 weeks, the last 7 weeks of this academic year, I'll use spelling lists from Head of the Class (which, if you haven't, you should check out. It is a complete curriculum for preK through 5th, and it is FREE!) Then for writing, I'm just searching out 4th grade (printable) writing activities, like an outline for writing a personal narrative, etc. I figure one writing project per week, which includes a first and a final draft, would be good. This week, he did a couple of story starters and some spelling, plus he read a lot.
For Cassia, learning to read is in full swing. We're trying a multi-sensory approach -- The Reading Lesson, Explode the Code, reading easy readers, and watching/playing Word World (TV episodes & the web site games). She is definitely making progress, despite her reluctance! I plan to keep my promise, which is that if she learns to read, up to grade level, I'll stop pestering her. I just want her to have the ability to read-- I can't make her like it!
Math
Cyrus is wrapping up a unit on multiplication. Next week we'll move into division, although he'll keep reviewing the times tables. I want him comfortable with his multiplication facts and the process of division by the end of our year.
I bumped Cassia up a level in place value with no trouble. She's been using her base ten blocks during lessons, which really helps cement the ideas of place value. She'll finish up this unit in a few weeks and then do some measurement activities to finish off the year.
Science
We watched an episode of The Universe, on the formation of the earth. We read more about ants in The Story Book of Science, and the kids colored, cut out, and put in order ant life cycle cards. I plan to read Born With a Bang to them over the weekend. Cassia's ladybug larvae finally got here, so we are excited about that! Still waiting for the mantises to hatch...
History/Social Studies
We "visited" Italy this week, since we had our Eating Around the World potluck. We read several books on Italy, ranging from factual to fiction. I also have over-the-weekend plans of reading aloud from A Little History of the World OR The Story of Mankind.
Other
No piano lesson this week for Cyrus as his piano teacher has the flu. He did play dissection games online, as did Cassia, and both viewed 3D human anatomy. We visited the library, and are preparing to write letters to our local library commission, who are planning on slashing hours at all branches. Maybe that should be Cyrus's writing assignment for the week! Besides all that, it has been a relatively quiet week.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
A new venture...
We are joining Spiral Scouts, thanks to a homeschooling friend and her husband who have gone through the whole leadership process to start a Circle! This seems like it will be a better fit for us than other, more traditional Scouting. What we're planning is this... each family/participant in our Circle will choose their own projects from the handbooks (which I have seen and which are fantastic resources). We'll meet up once a month to share our accomplishments, discuss badges, what we'll be doing next, etc., with occasional group activities and/or field trips together too. I will have one Firefly (Cassia) and one Spiral Scout (Cyrus). The kids and I are very excited about this! While we're not really Pagan, we're not anything else either, and I think that's the closest fit. M thinks it is a great program too, and we are very much looking forward to participating in this. I like the respect for the planet and others that this scouting program promotes.
The friend who is organizing all this is talking about using her Spiral Scout handbooks as a basis for curriculum... once I get mine, and really read through them, I may do the same. The kids will cover biology, history, and more through hands-on projects that they choose - I'd just add in math and writing/reading. To see a sample of what it takes to get a badge, check out the requirements for a Gardening Badge. Like I said though, we'll have to see after I get the handbooks, although, as anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I don't mind shifting my plans around!
Anyhow, today we had our monthly Eating Around the World Lunch. This month we chose Italy. I took panzenella and Torta della Nonna, both yummy, yummy, yummy! We had lasagne, biscotti, cheeses, olives, and more. I have made panzenetta before, but never the torta until today. We also voted on next month's country - Cyrus and I chose Greece, Cassia chose China. We'll find out via email what the results were (keep your fingers crossed for Greece!)
Other than that, Wednesdays are our active unschooling day. Besides lunch (which included some spoken Italian, Italian flags, and lots of play), the kids have dissected salmon (online, virtual). Cyrus viewed a lot of human anatomy, and Cassia is playing on Word World. Unfortunately, Cyrus's piano teacher (and her family) all have the flu, so no piano lesson today.
And a follow-up on Cassia's reading: she has been working hard on this. Between The Reading Lesson, reading leveled books aloud with an adult, and Word World, she is really putting things together. She is still reluctant to learn, but understands that once she knows how, we'll all stop pestering her so much! The one exception to Wednesday unschooling is The Reading Lesson, just a few pages. Also speaking of Cassia... I realized yesterday that she is not challenged by the math she is doing right now. Thankfully, I have the entire Math Mammoth Blue Series, so I can just bump her up a level.
Off to the store to buy delicious dinner things, then we'll watch Arthur and the Minimoys #2 together.
The friend who is organizing all this is talking about using her Spiral Scout handbooks as a basis for curriculum... once I get mine, and really read through them, I may do the same. The kids will cover biology, history, and more through hands-on projects that they choose - I'd just add in math and writing/reading. To see a sample of what it takes to get a badge, check out the requirements for a Gardening Badge. Like I said though, we'll have to see after I get the handbooks, although, as anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I don't mind shifting my plans around!
Anyhow, today we had our monthly Eating Around the World Lunch. This month we chose Italy. I took panzenella and Torta della Nonna, both yummy, yummy, yummy! We had lasagne, biscotti, cheeses, olives, and more. I have made panzenetta before, but never the torta until today. We also voted on next month's country - Cyrus and I chose Greece, Cassia chose China. We'll find out via email what the results were (keep your fingers crossed for Greece!)
Other than that, Wednesdays are our active unschooling day. Besides lunch (which included some spoken Italian, Italian flags, and lots of play), the kids have dissected salmon (online, virtual). Cyrus viewed a lot of human anatomy, and Cassia is playing on Word World. Unfortunately, Cyrus's piano teacher (and her family) all have the flu, so no piano lesson today.
And a follow-up on Cassia's reading: she has been working hard on this. Between The Reading Lesson, reading leveled books aloud with an adult, and Word World, she is really putting things together. She is still reluctant to learn, but understands that once she knows how, we'll all stop pestering her so much! The one exception to Wednesday unschooling is The Reading Lesson, just a few pages. Also speaking of Cassia... I realized yesterday that she is not challenged by the math she is doing right now. Thankfully, I have the entire Math Mammoth Blue Series, so I can just bump her up a level.
Off to the store to buy delicious dinner things, then we'll watch Arthur and the Minimoys #2 together.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday morning...
It is a beautiful, sunny Monday morning. A fresh start, the beginning of a whole week. The kids slept in, since they stayed up too late last night after all the Easter excitement. I have fresh brewed coffee at my side, and a fresh batch of Freckle Bread (thank you Cindie!) warm from the oven. I was thinking yesterday, browsing through the recipes on Cindie's blog, that I used to bake more. I made yummy muffins or quick breads, full of fruit and whole wheat flour, nuts and flax, honey and spices, and then I got into a rut where I wasn't baking. So I feel freshly inspired, and I have to say, the Freckle Bread is delicious!
Last night I found myself wondering, because of Oak Meadow talk on a message board, how far off my plans are for next year from a Waldorf curriculum, so I just looked around a bit and found that 5th graders do focus on ancient times, and according to several sources, 3rd graders focus on stories from ancient cultures. How funny is that? I didn't intentionally line those up - it just so happens that in classical education, a la The Well Trained Mind (WTM), 5th grade is ancient times, and Cassia was "tagging along." I don't really adhere to any one particular homeschooling method, but instead take all the bits and pieces that fit us best. Plus, it is time for my annual lusting after Oak Meadow, which never works for us anyway. So I look, I drool, and then I don't buy.
I am still considering History Odyssey Ancients level 2 for Cyrus (unsure if I'd use A Little History of the World OR The Story of Mankind with this), and have Cassia just listen along. I am also putting together a book list for Cassia, of fairy tales and myths from ancient cultures. Cyrus can listen in on those too. I think, after years of patching things together myself, I could use a year with things outlined for me, although I'd still probably make alterations here and there!
My other sticking spot is, as usual, science. I am half tempted to follow WTM biology suggestions, or to buy a biology program, and half tempted to simply finish reading through The Story Book of Science and then move into Madame How & Lady Why (over the summer maybe?), followed by The Secret Life of Everyday Things, adding in fun (and unrelated) projects from The Totally Irresponsible Book of Science once or twice a month. I think if we used simply the books I mentioned, I would have each child keep a nature journal/science notebook, with drawings, pictures of related crafts, notes about what they have learned, and so forth, much like the history notebook Cyrus will be keeping.
I do know that I would at some point like to add in The Story of Science as a read aloud to compliment history.
This week we will start our introduction to prehistory. We are going to cover the formation of the earth, the Big Bang, and things of that sort this week, and then move into fossils and archeology the following week. Don't tell my kids, but I have added a week to our schooling schedule, so we officially have eight weeks left instead of only seven, giving us a little more flexibility in our prehistory studies. We're also going to finish reading about ants in The Story Book of Science, work on spelling (Cyrus), reading (Cassia), finish up units on multiplication (Cyrus) and place value (Cassia), read a book about colonial times in America (Mondays are our American history days), and hopefully get a nature walk in.
Hope you all have a good week!
Last night I found myself wondering, because of Oak Meadow talk on a message board, how far off my plans are for next year from a Waldorf curriculum, so I just looked around a bit and found that 5th graders do focus on ancient times, and according to several sources, 3rd graders focus on stories from ancient cultures. How funny is that? I didn't intentionally line those up - it just so happens that in classical education, a la The Well Trained Mind (WTM), 5th grade is ancient times, and Cassia was "tagging along." I don't really adhere to any one particular homeschooling method, but instead take all the bits and pieces that fit us best. Plus, it is time for my annual lusting after Oak Meadow, which never works for us anyway. So I look, I drool, and then I don't buy.
I am still considering History Odyssey Ancients level 2 for Cyrus (unsure if I'd use A Little History of the World OR The Story of Mankind with this), and have Cassia just listen along. I am also putting together a book list for Cassia, of fairy tales and myths from ancient cultures. Cyrus can listen in on those too. I think, after years of patching things together myself, I could use a year with things outlined for me, although I'd still probably make alterations here and there!
My other sticking spot is, as usual, science. I am half tempted to follow WTM biology suggestions, or to buy a biology program, and half tempted to simply finish reading through The Story Book of Science and then move into Madame How & Lady Why (over the summer maybe?), followed by The Secret Life of Everyday Things, adding in fun (and unrelated) projects from The Totally Irresponsible Book of Science once or twice a month. I think if we used simply the books I mentioned, I would have each child keep a nature journal/science notebook, with drawings, pictures of related crafts, notes about what they have learned, and so forth, much like the history notebook Cyrus will be keeping.
I do know that I would at some point like to add in The Story of Science as a read aloud to compliment history.
This week we will start our introduction to prehistory. We are going to cover the formation of the earth, the Big Bang, and things of that sort this week, and then move into fossils and archeology the following week. Don't tell my kids, but I have added a week to our schooling schedule, so we officially have eight weeks left instead of only seven, giving us a little more flexibility in our prehistory studies. We're also going to finish reading about ants in The Story Book of Science, work on spelling (Cyrus), reading (Cassia), finish up units on multiplication (Cyrus) and place value (Cassia), read a book about colonial times in America (Mondays are our American history days), and hopefully get a nature walk in.
Hope you all have a good week!
Fairy Tales & Myths from Ancient Times...
A list I am putting together to read with Cassia!
Tales of Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian Cinderella
Tales from India
Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India
The Ch'i-lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories
Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China
The Gilgamesh Trilogy
Tales of the Plumed Serpent: Aztec, Incan & Mayan Myths
The Seven Wise Princesses
The Persian Cinderella
The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story
Tales from the Odyssey
The Orphan Girl; A Cinderella Story from Greece
Greek Myths (Usborne)
Tales of Pan
Roman Myths
Tales of Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian Cinderella
Tales from India
Anklet for a Princess: A Cinderella Story from India
The Ch'i-lin Purse: A Collection of Ancient Chinese Stories
Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China
The Gilgamesh Trilogy
Tales of the Plumed Serpent: Aztec, Incan & Mayan Myths
The Seven Wise Princesses
The Persian Cinderella
The Golden Sandal: A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story
Tales from the Odyssey
The Orphan Girl; A Cinderella Story from Greece
Greek Myths (Usborne)
Tales of Pan
Roman Myths
Friday, April 22, 2011
Writing... updated
Since I am in planning mode (wait... when am I not in planning mode?) I am researching writing programs for Cyrus (and kind of for Cassia).
Right now, I am looking at Writing Strands, level 3 and Igniting Your Writing, level 1. Both are written to the student, both have some humor in the instructions (important for Cyrus), and both start with the basics. I do like that Igniting Your Writing offers three levels of writing within one book, but then I swear in one sample I saw somewhere it was quoting the Bible, and we definitely prefer secular resources, although I can't find that sample now.
Hmmm... any feedback on either of these programs? People either seem to love or hate Writing Strands with no in-between, and I haven't read a lot of feedback on Igniting. Other programs I have considered or am considering include IEW's Themed Writing--All Things Fun & Fascinating looks pretty neat, as does Ancient History-based Writing Lessons--and Wordsmith Apprentice.
I am glad I am thinking about this now, since it gives me time to decide!
Ha! I have decided. I spent a good chunk of my evening yesterday looking through every sample I could find, and decided, with Cyrus's help, on Igniting Your Writing, level 1. I love that it has several levels within each level (beginning, intermediate, advanced), that it is written primarily to the student, and that it will teach him writing skills while allowing for a lot of creativity. Now I just need a student thesaurus! I am now switching over to more intensive planning for Cassia, a lot of which will depend on her reading level by next fall. I think for her I will probably stick with Primary Language Lessons since it is very gentle and I already bought part one from Cynce's Place.
Hmmm... any feedback on either of these programs? People either seem to love or hate Writing Strands with no in-between, and I haven't read a lot of feedback on Igniting. Other programs I have considered or am considering include IEW's Themed Writing--All Things Fun & Fascinating looks pretty neat, as does Ancient History-based Writing Lessons--and Wordsmith Apprentice.
I am glad I am thinking about this now, since it gives me time to decide!
Ha! I have decided. I spent a good chunk of my evening yesterday looking through every sample I could find, and decided, with Cyrus's help, on Igniting Your Writing, level 1. I love that it has several levels within each level (beginning, intermediate, advanced), that it is written primarily to the student, and that it will teach him writing skills while allowing for a lot of creativity. Now I just need a student thesaurus! I am now switching over to more intensive planning for Cassia, a lot of which will depend on her reading level by next fall. I think for her I will probably stick with Primary Language Lessons since it is very gentle and I already bought part one from Cynce's Place.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Why she can't read...
Anyone that has read this blog for a while probably realizes my darling daughter, at the age of 8, does not read. I have been agonizing over this lately... well, if you call at least a year lately. I imagined learning disabilities, vision disorders, and so forth. But the answer (or at least I believe it to be the answer) popped out of her, clear and precise, yesterday. I asked why she wasn't working harder on reading, didn't she want to read? Her answer..
"Mommy, I don't want to read. It just isn't interesting to me right now."
Okay, maybe this is too simple. Maybe there are underlying issues. But I have to think that her total lack of interest plays a big part in her lack of reading ability. After her (stunning) comment, her brother and I tried to convince her of the joys of reading, of transporting oneself through a book. She didn't seem convinced :(
I am still determined that she will continue trying to learn. I can at least give her the basics, the tools, while I wait for her to develop an interest. At least now I feel like I have more of the puzzle pieces that make up my daughter!
"Mommy, I don't want to read. It just isn't interesting to me right now."
Okay, maybe this is too simple. Maybe there are underlying issues. But I have to think that her total lack of interest plays a big part in her lack of reading ability. After her (stunning) comment, her brother and I tried to convince her of the joys of reading, of transporting oneself through a book. She didn't seem convinced :(
I am still determined that she will continue trying to learn. I can at least give her the basics, the tools, while I wait for her to develop an interest. At least now I feel like I have more of the puzzle pieces that make up my daughter!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Pre-Historical Explorations...
We're starting on a unit in prehistory (thank you Angela!). We decided this would be a fun (and informative) way to end our academic year, and it will prepare us for Ancient history in the fall. This is a rough outline of my plan, and some of the resources we'll be using. We'll start this after Easter, as we are on spring break at the moment! We're also dedicating one day a week to American history, using Betsy Maestro's American Story.
All Weeks
The Story of Mankind OR A Little History of the World (mostly for Cyrus)
Darwin & Evolution for Kids: His Life & Ideas with 21 Activities
And we'll be doing some activities from Insects (Make it Work! Science)
The kids will also be making their own dinosaur notebooks using printouts from The Learning Page
Week One
The Big Bang and the formation of the earth
The Universe, season 1 (the episode about the formation of the earth)
Born with a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story
Week Two
Fossils (& archeology)
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Fossils
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Archeology
Mary Anning: The Fossil Hunter
Week Three
Early Life & Evolution (Pre-Cambrian/Cambrian)
Evolution: How We & All Living Things Came to Be
Raptors, Fossils, Fins & Fangs
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Evolution
Week Four
First Plants & Animals
From Lava to Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth's Story
Early Life (Prehistoric World)
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Plants
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Insects
Week Five
The Triassic Period
Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs for All Ages
Triassic Life (Prehistoric World)
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs, episode 1
Week Six
The Jurassic Period
Jurassic Life (Prehistoric World)
Dinosaur Mountain: Digging into the Jurassic Age
Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs for All Ages
Walking with Dinosaurs, episodes 2 & 3
Week Seven
Cretaceous Period
Cretaceous Life (Prehistoric World)
The Great Adventure of Sally Rock & the Cretaceous Chicken
Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs for All Ages
And Then There Was One: The Mystery of Extinction
Walking with Dinosaurs, episodes 4, 5 & 6
Week Eight
Mammals
The Age of Mammals (Prehistoric World)
The Ice Age (Prehistoric World)
Mammals Who Morph: The Universe Tells Our Evolution Story
Evolution: How We & All Living Things Came to Be
The Life of Mammals, episodes 1-4 and/or Walking with Prehistoric Beasts
Friday, April 15, 2011
Weekly Wrap-Up... A theater-packed week...
This week has somehow been about one stage show after another! Tuesday, we took my mom with us to see The Mystery of King Tut. It was... interesting. There were funny parts, and a few good historical references, but overall fairly historically inaccurate. But, key thing, the kids enjoyed it. I did like the inventiveness of the sets, which had to be changed quickly during the play ("school" shows are limited to one hour.)
Today we saw an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, which was quite creative, since they had to basically condense the story (again, the time constraint.) Again, creative sets, and the music was decent. The kids laughed a lot, which I took as a good sign. Cassia says she still prefers the movie version, and Cyrus wished it followed the book more closely, but both said they really liked it anyhow.
Tomorrow, Cassia and I have a girls' afternoon out, and another stage show. This time, it will be a ballet adaptation of Snow White that one of Cassia's friends is dancing in. Cyrus will enjoy a guys' afternoon at home with his dad.
As mentioned in last night's post, they have worked on developing alphabet books this week, which will be used in an actual classroom! They finished about 6 letters each, and sent the pages in to be reviewed. After they get them back, they'll have another two weeks to finish them. Again, this is a unique opportunity my sister offered as part of her special ed credentialing.
We really haven't done much history this week, besides a very interesting conversation about King Tut. And in science, we have been reading, and very, very much enjoying, George's Secret Key to the Universe (and some more about ants in The Story Book of Science.) George's Secret Key is a great fit right now because we'll be studying the Big Bang (history and science) over the next couple of weeks, and the life cycle of stars has already been covered in this book.
Other than that, the kids have been enjoying the usual - chess, Old Maid, Go Fish, a few TV shows here and there, stories... Cassia and I read Katie & the Mona Lisa, as well as Olivia Goes to Venice, and Cyrus is reading The Last Olympian. We're off to the park shortly if the weather holds out. Have a good weekend!
Today we saw an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, which was quite creative, since they had to basically condense the story (again, the time constraint.) Again, creative sets, and the music was decent. The kids laughed a lot, which I took as a good sign. Cassia says she still prefers the movie version, and Cyrus wished it followed the book more closely, but both said they really liked it anyhow.
Tomorrow, Cassia and I have a girls' afternoon out, and another stage show. This time, it will be a ballet adaptation of Snow White that one of Cassia's friends is dancing in. Cyrus will enjoy a guys' afternoon at home with his dad.
As mentioned in last night's post, they have worked on developing alphabet books this week, which will be used in an actual classroom! They finished about 6 letters each, and sent the pages in to be reviewed. After they get them back, they'll have another two weeks to finish them. Again, this is a unique opportunity my sister offered as part of her special ed credentialing.
We really haven't done much history this week, besides a very interesting conversation about King Tut. And in science, we have been reading, and very, very much enjoying, George's Secret Key to the Universe (and some more about ants in The Story Book of Science.) George's Secret Key is a great fit right now because we'll be studying the Big Bang (history and science) over the next couple of weeks, and the life cycle of stars has already been covered in this book.
Other than that, the kids have been enjoying the usual - chess, Old Maid, Go Fish, a few TV shows here and there, stories... Cassia and I read Katie & the Mona Lisa, as well as Olivia Goes to Venice, and Cyrus is reading The Last Olympian. We're off to the park shortly if the weather holds out. Have a good weekend!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
History and more...
I have been running ideas past the kids left and right, in preparation for next year. We discussed and debated American history, world history, the history of science, cultural studies, etc., and finally settled on ancient times. In thinking about our approach to this, I thought of three things... 1) that I would like to give Pandia Press' History Odyssey (Ancient Times, level 2) for Cyrus; 2) that it would be a bit advanced for my Miss Cassia; and 3) that I would like to cover prehistory in more depth first.
I posted about this on a popular homeschooling message board, and found the following fantastic resources:
We're also excited (especially me, and perhaps geekishly so) because on this round, we're going to blend science with history (a little bit off from tWTM recommendations). I am really looking forward to being able to use The Story of Science over the next few years!
In the meantime, we are enjoying our insect and nature studies. We're planning on crafts to share at our next 4H science project, as well as more complicated ones to do at home. Cyrus's praying mantis egg sack arrived, and we are eagerly awaiting Cassia's ladybug larvae. The ant farm has been really interesting too, with more complex tunnels appearing every day.
We have been sticking with Math Mammoth, and they are making good progress. I am trying, really hard, to decide on next fall's math. M (and to a degree the kids) are very intrigued by Teaching Textbooks. I looked at the placement tests and I think the kids would be right on grade level with it. The cost is somewhat deterring, but then I can reuse all of Cyrus's for Cassia. And, with my school schedule, etc., in the fall, it might be easier to have a math program that teaches to them, not quite so much through me. However, I also liked the idea of using Life of Fred mixed with Math Mammoth for Cyrus... hmmmmmm........
Today, they started a really fun project - my sister is doing Special Ed credentialing and one of her assignments was a creative class project... she chose to have my kids make alphabet books. So we gathered all our alphabet books here, and at my mom/sister's house, and today they started their own books. Cyrus is doing his as a sort of "I Spy" book, and Cassia's is all about unique animals. I am trying to come up with ways to get Cyrus writing, including setting up his own blog for him.
So on to my next thought, which is of course writing instruction for Cyrus. I am debating three ideas: to let him write across the curriculum; to use Writeshop Apprentice; or to wait for Susan Wise Bauer's Writing with Skill, which is due to be out by fall, despite the date on Amazon. I do know which grammar program I want to use-- Winston Grammar, Basic Level. I am going to test-run writing across the curriculum for now, and will let you know how it goes!
Other than that, all is well. I have actually been doing quite well in Statistics, and my Language & Literacy class is great. The kids are loving the long class day with my mom, now that they have gotten into the groove of things with her, which is good because they may have two longish days in the fall!
I think I dumped out enough thoughts all mumble-jumbled for now!
I posted about this on a popular homeschooling message board, and found the following fantastic resources:
- A list that correlates History Odyssey Ancient Times Level 2 with Story of the World (perfect level for Cassia)
- A list of prehistory resources, all nicely organized
We're also excited (especially me, and perhaps geekishly so) because on this round, we're going to blend science with history (a little bit off from tWTM recommendations). I am really looking forward to being able to use The Story of Science over the next few years!
In the meantime, we are enjoying our insect and nature studies. We're planning on crafts to share at our next 4H science project, as well as more complicated ones to do at home. Cyrus's praying mantis egg sack arrived, and we are eagerly awaiting Cassia's ladybug larvae. The ant farm has been really interesting too, with more complex tunnels appearing every day.
We have been sticking with Math Mammoth, and they are making good progress. I am trying, really hard, to decide on next fall's math. M (and to a degree the kids) are very intrigued by Teaching Textbooks. I looked at the placement tests and I think the kids would be right on grade level with it. The cost is somewhat deterring, but then I can reuse all of Cyrus's for Cassia. And, with my school schedule, etc., in the fall, it might be easier to have a math program that teaches to them, not quite so much through me. However, I also liked the idea of using Life of Fred mixed with Math Mammoth for Cyrus... hmmmmmm........
Today, they started a really fun project - my sister is doing Special Ed credentialing and one of her assignments was a creative class project... she chose to have my kids make alphabet books. So we gathered all our alphabet books here, and at my mom/sister's house, and today they started their own books. Cyrus is doing his as a sort of "I Spy" book, and Cassia's is all about unique animals. I am trying to come up with ways to get Cyrus writing, including setting up his own blog for him.
So on to my next thought, which is of course writing instruction for Cyrus. I am debating three ideas: to let him write across the curriculum; to use Writeshop Apprentice; or to wait for Susan Wise Bauer's Writing with Skill, which is due to be out by fall, despite the date on Amazon. I do know which grammar program I want to use-- Winston Grammar, Basic Level. I am going to test-run writing across the curriculum for now, and will let you know how it goes!
Other than that, all is well. I have actually been doing quite well in Statistics, and my Language & Literacy class is great. The kids are loving the long class day with my mom, now that they have gotten into the groove of things with her, which is good because they may have two longish days in the fall!
I think I dumped out enough thoughts all mumble-jumbled for now!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Today's discovery...
Cyrus has been reading this book...
And really enjoying it, so I went ahead and read through it myself. I'll admit, I learned a lot... about the Wright brothers, engineering, horsepower, etc. Then, looking at the cover more carefully, I noticed it is a "Landmark Book". So I went to Amazon and typed in a search for Landmark Books. I am amazed at what I found! So many books on so many historical events and figures! I am surprised I didn't find these before.
Thankfully, my library carries many of these titles, so I am adding to our American history read alouds, with titles like:
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began
And there are tons more! I love new finds, even when those new finds are old things. These books are easy to read, simply and clearly written, and tell everything in a story format - all of my children's favorite things in a book.
And just for fun, some great links to Living Book Lists...
History
A Charlotte Mason Approach to History
Paula's Archives: History
A Book in Time
Science
Applie's Place: A Living Book List for Science
Paula's Archives: Science
Readable Science: An Incomplete Book List
Math
Living Math Books & Mathematical Classics
Building a Children's Math Library
Living Math Book List
And really enjoying it, so I went ahead and read through it myself. I'll admit, I learned a lot... about the Wright brothers, engineering, horsepower, etc. Then, looking at the cover more carefully, I noticed it is a "Landmark Book". So I went to Amazon and typed in a search for Landmark Books. I am amazed at what I found! So many books on so many historical events and figures! I am surprised I didn't find these before.
Thankfully, my library carries many of these titles, so I am adding to our American history read alouds, with titles like:
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Liberty! How the Revolutionary War Began
And there are tons more! I love new finds, even when those new finds are old things. These books are easy to read, simply and clearly written, and tell everything in a story format - all of my children's favorite things in a book.
And just for fun, some great links to Living Book Lists...
History
A Charlotte Mason Approach to History
Paula's Archives: History
A Book in Time
Science
Applie's Place: A Living Book List for Science
Paula's Archives: Science
Readable Science: An Incomplete Book List
Math
Living Math Books & Mathematical Classics
Building a Children's Math Library
Living Math Book List