Fairly Wordy Wednesday... Spiral Scout Handbooks...

My latest obsession, for lack of a better word, is the Spiral Scouts handbook. We joined Spiral Scouts last year, a very small circle with another homeschooling family. Then they dropped out of it--too much going on--but I still have these fantastic handbooks just laying around. They are chock full of paths to earning badges and awards, well thought out and thorough paths. Here's an example (click on the images to see them more clearly)


Pretty thorough, huh? So of course, I want to incorporate these learning paths, but how? Then, it came to me. Simply act as though we are still in Spiral Scouts, and have the kids each choose an award/badge project every month or two (some may take at least 2 months to complete), mentally replacing the word "Circle" with "Family". The kids like this idea too, especially when I told them they could each keep a little completion notebook, for which I will make hand-drawn paper "badges" to glue in. Bug chose an Art Award to start with, and Cricket the Cooking Badge. I think next month, when we finally get to put in our raised beds, we'll do the Gardening Badge as seen above. A good cross I think between child led, since they get to choose their projects, and well laid out. I am thinking too that for topics NOT covered in these handbooks, I can use their layout as sort of a template to help give my kids a little direction!

I'm also thinking we may just use The Dangerous Book for Boys and Daring Book for Girls as read alouds, more or less, and resources for games and crafts, rather than unit studies, per se. I think we'd be more likely to get to using them that way!

Weekly report, 11/7-11/11: And the rain is coming down...

And down and down. It is pouring here, of course, because Fridays are generally Park Days. So much for that! Instead, our plans involve finishing Dinotopia at long last, with a big bowl of popcorn. And then Bug is off to his first ever sleepover, and Cricket and I will go see Puss in Boots.

It has been an unschooly kind of week. We are 10 weeks into our school year (eeek!) and still making adjustments. But then, I am not so sure adjusting ever ends in homeschooling. Next week we'll be back up to speed in math and language arts, etc.

What We Have Done...

Math
The kids played Sum Swamp, and Payday. We read Alexander Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday, and Bug double checked the math. We read Pigs in the Pantry, and Cricket compared quantities of ingredients while Bug figured out how many cups of beans there were in the cans used, and how much excess the father pig had compared to the recipe. Cricket also helped with actual measuring this week as she helped me cook dinner every night.

Language Arts
Bug is writing a story on the computer, working on it right now as a matter of fact. I just taught him how to use the spell checker, and he noticed that he has a tendency to spell the same words, or similar ones, wrong over and over, usually more simple ones! He also continued re-reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

Cricket read two Nora Gaydos Now I'm Reading books to me this week, and read the words she could in a Frog and Toad story. She sounded out the word "wonderful", which was indeed wonderful! We spent a lot of time reading this week.

World Cultures & Mythology
We started our study of world cultures this week, with Hungary. Cricket and I enjoyed reading A Song for Lena, A Family in Hungary, and a couple of stories from an Eastern European book of fairy tales. Cricket made, with very little help, a delicious Hungarian Goulash for dinner last night, which she served with mashed potatoes and a super yummy cucumber salad. Next week we're off to Russia!

Bug started reading about Greek mythology this week. He picked up a copy of the D'Aulaires' Greek Myths at the library. I am going to have him make a Main Lesson Book on mythology starting next week. I'm also ordering the study packets from the American Classical League.

Sciences
Cassiaricket has been assisting her dad daily in the greenhouse where he keeps his bonsai collection. She helped transplant one little tree, and trim a couple of others, as well as watering, etc. She is learning a lot about plants and seems to have a real affinity for gardening. This is great because we are in the midst of planning out a real vegetable garden , raised beds and all, for next spring. I placed on hold at the library a few books on gardening - some for me, and a couple for the kids. Oh, and I ordered this catalog.

We also brought home a caterpillar from the farm where we get our milk. Cricket and Bug made it a habitat in a jar, and this week it cocooned itself! So cool! We think it will hatch into a tiger moth.

The kids watched another episode of Walking With Dinosaurs and have been comparing what they actually know about dinosaurs to the movie Dinotopia.

Literature
We continued reading from the Nurse Matilda stories this week. Cricket and I also started Understood Betsy, which I think she will really enjoy. I decided they need more poetry, so I am going to have them each memorize a poem. Cricket's will be The Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti in honor of our caterpillar, Bug will learn something from A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein, and I have decided to memorize The Morns Are Getting Meeker Than They Were by Emily Dickinson.

Other, and Spiral Scouts
In regards to my post on incorporating more Waldorf, I think I have figured out how. I plan to continue with American history, using Time Travelers and lapbooking, along with good books, but then for mythology, cultural studies, and gardening/botany, we'll use main lesson books. We're going to set up a nature table, and during our Charlotte Mason-inspired nature walks, we can collect things for the table. may felt a few fairies and the like for it.

We also decided on our Spiral Scouts projects for the time being! Both kids will work on their Gold Stars and Super Me (both more or less required), and then they will both do Cooking and Gardening badges. Additionally, Bug will be working on Art and Mythology badges, and Cricket will work on Fiber Arts. We can also log hiking and camping times to our Hiking and Camping badges. There are literally over a hundred choices in badges, so I am glad they will be at this level - Spiral Scouts - until they are 14, when they can go up a level, to PathFinders. I'm sure we'll add in more badges here and there as their interests broaden, but I think this is plenty to work on now. We're aiming to get the required ones out of the way by Yule, then start the others in all earnestness after the winter holidays. The badges actually require a lot of learning and work, as you can see from the Gardening Badge sample here.

And there's our week! Hope you had a good one too.

Reading... and rambling...

I have been reading that is. Since our Disneyland adventure, and settling back into a routine (with the new job and all), I have been devouring Charlotte Mason's Home Education. Somehow, although it may be considered "old fashioned", it totally strikes a chord within me.

One of the problems I have always had with a CM education is the formation of good habits - Waldorf methods are also big on establishing a sense of rhythm/routine. Since my schedule as a grocery clerk changed on a weekly basis, I have been unable to develop a firm bedtime for myself, or the children, a regular homeschooling schedule, etc. When you work from 7 am to 3 pm one day, and 5 pm to 11 pm the next, habit/rhythm/routine can be a difficult thing. But, in just our first week on a real schedule, I am already noticing differences. The kids are up at 7 every morning now, instead of some time between eight and ten thirty. Of course this is because they have to get up to spend the morning at my mom's, doing arts and crafts, baking, sewing, and more, but then bedtime is so much easier! Now we have a regular time to get up, a regular time for dinner, a regular time for bed... next week I'll tackle regular times for housework and homeschooling!

I also plan to start enforcing chores again, and be more regular with making sure Cyrus is doing his piano practice. I find I am sliding into habits too... I read at bedtime instead of collapsing in front of the TV. I am drinking herbal tea while reading instead of mindlessly munching who knows what while glued to the tube. I do brisk walking on my break at work, and next week we'll start walking or maybe the Couch Potato to 5K running program 3 late afternoons a week (if walking, we'll aim for every day). I have tried that running program before by myself, but now I'll be doing it with the kids. In just 3 days, I have lost 2 pounds. I am also not absolutely exhausted at 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Amazing what regular sleep can do!

Anyhow, back to Home Education... so much of it fits effortlessly with what we are already doing. I'd like to add in picture studies beyond what they do in Primary and Intermediate Language Lessons, and I would like to add geography. Miss Mason recommended reading good travel books for this subject, and in my research I found this... Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels. I am getting it through the library first, before investing in it! But from the reviews I have read, it sounds like an exciting (and yes, somewhat outdated) introduction to world geography. For grammar, which I hope to add in after winter break, I am looking at combining The Sentence Family with Grammar-Land. Beyond that, Charlotte Mason methods call for reading good "living" books (which we do plenty of), a wholesome diet and plenty of fresh air, hands-on math, immersion in nature, regular activity, hands-on real crafts, and a sense of respect, as children are people too.

I have made my decision about 4H. I feel that my kids and I need some time at home, days where, besides my work, we don't have to go places and do things. I hope to reserve most afternoons for homeschooling and family life. We will be continuing with Spiral Scouts - I spoke to our circle leader today, and we're going to meet once every 6 or 8 weeks for an awards ceremony, rather than monthly. The rest of the time, we will be choosing and doing the projects on our own, which is fine with me! Another mom at Park Day today was telling me that she feels children need more time at home than out with other kids. They don't need to be involved in too many outside activities/classes, which is how I am feeling these days too. They certainly don't need to be insulated from the world but they don't need daily outings either! I'm likely stepping on someone's toes saying that, but then I am relatively sure at least a few people agree with me.

I especially focused on reading more about CM reading methods, and am going to work more with Cassia on these. We've been making good use of the whiteboard lately, with a book of word families at our side, and a multitude of dry erase markers in various colors. Cassia is retaining all the word families we cover, even when I throw in "challenge" words... for example, we worked on "cash", "bash", "mash" and "rash", so I added "crash" and "smash", which she was able to read as well. I know phonics are not, per se, part of the CM method, but using them in conjunction with her methods is working. She did do work with word families as well, giving specific examples in the book.

I started out my year with lots of solid seeming plans for homeschooling. As usual, I am finding that they shift as we go, the flexibility being one of the beauties of homeschooling. I am still not solid on science... should I go with BFSU or the human anatomy that fascinates my kids in addition to our nature studies? I figure at least this year we're doing more than we did last year!

Weekly Report 7/18-7/22...

This week will be both a regular, weekly wrap-up and a participating entry for Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers' Annual Curriculum Special Edition. First, curriculum, which I have all picked out, and am happy and excited about! To make it simple, here is a link to the page I already have set up...

2011-2012 Plans

Now, a more regular weekly wrap-up...

This was a busy week for me at work, as I picked up additional hours, so we didn't do a whole lot of sit-down learning. What we did do was:

• Card games
• Piano practice & a lesson
• Reading practice (Cassia)
• I read aloud from The Search for Delicious
• We talked about fractions, and the kids did mental addition with fractions
• We started watching Walking with Cavemen
• We watched a documentary on food and food politics in the USA... it is called What's On Your Plate? and was put together in large part by two 11 year olds, who decided to research food systems in New York. This led to a lot of interesting discussions about food, nutrients, gardening, farming, corporations, and more
• Art - drawings, a couple of paintings, collages, etc.
• They built a house from cardboard boxes at their Nonna's house
  
• We had our second Spiral Scouts meeting today. The kids presented a drawing each, of their five favorite things (part of the work toward an award), and we began learning about using compasses/orienteering for another award. When we got home, their uniforms had arrived (I ordered the dark green polo shirts and a khaki skirt for Cassia from a school uniform place. Thankfully, Cyrus already has khaki pants!) so now they are "breaking them in"

Not an eventful week, but a decent one!

Ahhh... a fresh, and sunny start to the week...

And I have today, and tomorrow, off from work. Short shifts Wednesday through Friday, which still allows me plenty of time to be with the kids, and the husband, and enjoy summer. Possible plans for the week include a beach trip with friends; a homeschool association meeting, which I'll talk more about momentarily; park day of course; gardening; housecleaning; Spiral Scout projects to start working on; and so forth.

Some time ago, I was a board member for the local homeschool association to which I belong. I held a couple of positions... field trip coordinator (so much fun!), Webmaster... but then it got hard. Our insurance didn't cover what we thought it did, one member of the group caused so much trouble we had to refund her membership and ask her to look elsewhere, no one except the board ever showed up to the open meetings, a splinter group formed, and life got in the way for some of the board. We, by consensus, dissolved the board. Looking back on it, I am not so sure that we made the right decision, although it felt right at the time.

Now, we have a group of determined volunteers who have stepped up to the plate, done the research and all the work, and are helping our little group get nonprofit status, which makes it much better for the insurance part. Tomorrow's meeting is the adoption and ratification of the new bylaws, the formation of committees, the birthday of our new group! (I am really hoping there is a field trip committee that I can help with) I am excited about this. Most of the women heading this are friends of mine, and the ones that aren't I just don't really know yet, although I am sure I have met them. This to me is definitely a fresh start, and a strong one!

We had our first Spiral Scouts meeting last week, and came away from it feeling like we have found our home in scouting. We made our Circle, discussed individual and group projects, selected some to work on before the meeting next month (and for some time after that since they are pretty complex) There are several levels of awards to work on... awards, badges, and spirals/stars. I had Cassia and Cyrus choose one from each category. Cyrus chose projects primarily related to art, and Cassia was excited to see that cooking is a badge project! When we got home after park day in the evening, I went over all the paper work with M, who really liked what he saw as well. Each project has requirements that have to be met, and then several other options to choose from. For an example, check out the sample of the gardening badge work here. My kids are both at the Spiral Scout level, so you can see this isn't just easy work! We signed all the paperwork, which has been sent off, paid our dues, and are now eagerly awaiting our activity books.

What I like, in addition to the actual level of learning that will take place with these projects, is that there are so many to choose from, and a lot that align with our interests. For example, several have multicultural aspects, which interests Cassia, and there is even a mythology award for Cyrus to work on maybe in the fall!

And now for a couple of book reviews. First, for Cindie, is Waldorf Education: A Family Guide. This is a series of essays, by teachers, parents, etc. It is a good introduction to Waldorf education for those thinking of adapting it in their homeschool lives, or those thinking of placing their children in a Waldorf school. I especially liked the essays on different temperaments, and colors, daily rhythms, and the lovely birthday story from one parent. However, while the book is a good introduction, it is just that, and introduction. I enjoyed reading it, but it left me wanting more. How do I know which temperament my child has? How could I apply color in their daily lives that reflects where they are in their life journey? It did do a good job of covering the general ideas, and giving the background of Waldorf education, and I enjoyed reading it, so I would recommend it.

And then Pocketful of Pinecones, a book I have seen recommended over and over again in regards to Charlotte Mason and nature study. While my spiritual leanings differ from the author and the main character she created, and the book does reference those leanings a lot, I could not put this book down! The characters were realistic and appealing, as was the fact that the main character, the mother, had both a boy and a girl, like I do. However, I think she was a good deal more patient than I tend to be! I have read some of Charlotte Mason's original writings, and while they are extremely informative, and should be read by anyone wanting to follow her methods, they can also be a little tough going. This book, written as a diary, was easy to read, and full of Mason's ideals. Practical and applicable. There are nature study recommendations, thoughtful questions at the end of each chapter, and a plethora of books for nature studies recommended in the appendix. And there are cross references to Mason's original works. I felt really inspired by this book, and can't wait to read Lessons at Blackberry Inn. My children will absolutely be keeping nature journals this year!

In other news, we've been re-watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Harry Potter movies, getting ourselves ready for the final HP installment in July. Watching LoTR has made me want to read The Hobbit to the kids at some point over the next year. Oh, and we want to finish listening to Jim Dale's marvelous reading of the HP books. M and I were discussing Shakespeare the other night (we both love Much Ado About Nothing), and the kids were intrigued, so I am researching children's versions of Shakespeare's stories... Nesbit, Lamb, Garfield, other? Recommendations? Until now, I have tried to tie our read alouds to other studies, but I really think we can enjoy books without always doing that.

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.