Plan B (Otherwise known as THE plan) 2009-10

the Fairy, 1st grade
Language Arts
Handwriting: HWOT My Printing Book
Phonics: Phonics Pathways and Easy Lessons for Teaching Word Families
Reading: Bob Books and Now I'm Reading books. I will also be reading aloud to her most days from this list

Math
Saxon Math 1


the Elf, 3rd grade
Language Arts
Handwriting: Handwriting Connections (cursive)
Grammar: G.U.M. (Grammar, Usage, Mechanics)
Writing/Spelling/Vocabulary: Writing Tales 1
Reading: aloud and/or to self, from this list

Math
Saxon Math 3


Both kids
History
Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, using:
Story of the World 1 (ch. 19-41) and The Story of the Romans
Correlating activities and misc. supplemental read-alouds

Geography
1st grade: Maps, Globes, Graphs Level A
3rd grade: Maps, Globes, Graphs Level C

Science
Mr. Q's Elementary Life Science
Correlating activities and misc. supplemental read-alouds

Misc:
Classes: Art and hands-on Science at a charter school; dance lessons, roller skating, and maybe gymnastics
Other (not scheduled): Continued sewing lessons from their Nonna; Continued cooking lessons from their Nonna and myself; Beginning carpentry lessons from their dad; Lots of hands-on gardening; lots of art (always going on at our house!)

Insects, power outages and more...

Yesterday we had horrendous winds - winds that knocked over our shaded swing seat, tore some branches off of neighbors' trees, and blew down power lines, rendering my entire side of town without power for hours. I left early to drive to work, knowing that traffic signals wouln't be working. Instead I was late, thanks to 2 accidents in two successive intersections - apparently people don't get taking turns!

The kids found the whole power outage experience to be very exciting. M used our campstove to make dinner and popcorn, they played card games (I taught them War yesterday), told stories, lit candles, and had a generally good time. When I drove home at 11:30, it was pitch black everywhere without street lights, etc., but the stars were glorious! Power came back on about 2 or 3 this morning thankfully (I need that morning coffee!).

We're about to start a unit on insects, at the request of my kids (probably triggered by our recent visit to a butterfly garden), and taking the place of nature studies for the moment. We'll watch a favorite movie - Microcosmos - read books (including the Children's Guide to Insects & Spiders, and the Best Book of Bugs, as well as a few books from this series), do some printouts from Learning Page (each child will make a "bug book" of their own), and work on planning (and planting, or at least starting to plant) a butterfly & bird garden. In the last couple of weeks, we have learned to identify local butterflies!

We're also preparing to dive back into history. We'll be using History Odyssey Ancients, with a couple of weeks on creation stories first, and then a somewhat extended study of prehistoric man. The kids (and I) are very excited about getting back into historical studies, and since Oak Meadow 3 covers some ancient civilizations, I thought starting back at the beginning would be a good idea.

Well, we need to get ready to go somewhere, so see you later!

Lemon-Lavender Muffins

These are a quintessential spring/summer treat!

1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp lavender
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup buttermilk (I used regular & added a Tbsp of lemon juice)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon or vanilla extract
1 egg
2 Tbsp melted butter

Note: I also added 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice as the batter seemed really thick...

Preheat oven to 400 F, and prepare muffin pan. Combine sugar, lavender and lemon zest in a blender or food processor; process until lavender is chopped. Remove 2 Tbsp. to a small bowl & set aside. Combine remaining sugar mixture, flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt in a large bowl. Stir together buttermilk, oil, extract & egg in a small bowl; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Spoon into muffin tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until they spring back to light touch. While they're still warm, brush with the melted butter & dip in the reserved sugar mixture.Makes 12 regular muffins or 24 miniature ones.

Something to look forward to...

We have successfully scheduled and reserved space for our first official family backpacking trip this June! M and I have not gone backpacking since I was about 2 months pregnant with the Elf, so it has been a while. We picked a "backcountry" campground with a relatively short (1.4 miles) and fairly level hike from the trailhead to camp to make it easier for everyone. Thus far, the kids have been camping a number of times (starting when the Elf was about 6 weeks old), but only "car" camping, so they aren't used to having access only to what we can trek in. Naturally, M and I will be shouldering the bulk of our camping supplies, but the kids will be using backpacks to carry some snacks, a few clothing items, and their own (very lightweight and efficient) sleeping bags. All of us are very excited about it! In the meantime, we'll content ourselves with weekend hikes at the local state park.

Except for some light world culture studies and a story the Elf is writing, we are taking off this week, and probably next week. The charter school is closed for those two weeks, so it seemed a good time to take a spring break. We hope to reorganize our family room in order to add two big bookcases - my dad has finished selecting the books he wants to keep from his old home, so we are allowed to choose from what's left. I have found all sorts of great books, like several volumes of this series from the (now defunct) Nature Company, and much of this set on science (60 volumes, thankfully they are thin!). I also got books on history, including the Who's Who in British/European history series, and one of my favorite sets: A History of Private Life (covers Rome to the Great War). Plus numerous Disney movies on VHS, and a plethora of other books. So much stuff he is willing to let go! He loves his new home and life though, so I am confident the right decision was made.

Learning styles...

I'll admit I was a little surprised by this one - last time I took one of these quizzes, quite some time ago, the Elf was very kinesthetic. I still think he is at least more kinesthetic than auditory. I would agree he is strongly visual too, being very artistic.



This one I was not surprised by. the Fairy is definately a very auditory learner. She sings and hums all day long. And dances...

Here's a link to the quiz... Child Learning Style Quiz

Besides all that, everything is moving along fine here. We tried Explode the Code 3 1/2 with the Elf, but after doing the first 4 pages in under 4 minutes, he said "This is too easy", so I bumped him up to EtC 4, where it took him all of 8 minutes to do 4 pages. He also thought the unit on telling time from MathSteps was too easy, so I am glad we've been supplementing with Saxon 2, and that we will be using Saxon 3 in the fall.

Minor interruption there as the Fairy asked to to get her "some more of that drippy yellow stuff I had yesterday" (i.e. mango). Mouth watering description there!

What a day yesterday - first, I've been driving BIL's car while he is off in Maui, and yesterday morning I took it down to get gas. Had finished pumping and got into the car just in time to get backed into by a guy on a cell phone. Thankfully there was no damage! Then, it was very, very windy, and another branch came down off the neighbor's tree on nearly on top of the kids, who were playing in our newly fenced patio extension. Thankfully both were okay, and our roof and everything else seem okay too.

The kids asked me the other day if they could "re-study ancient stuff", partly in preparation for a planned trip to an Egyptian exhibit later this year. I said yes, and have decided that since I have 90% of the materials needed on hand, we'll start up with History Odyssey Ancients over the summer (yes, the kids are fine with learning history during their summer vacation), and looking at the calendar and HO's table of contents, I figure we could be through the Egyptian part by early fall. After we finish studying the Ancients, I plan to move straight into the Middle Ages (which I also have about 90% of the books/supplies for). Year round history! I have had second thoughts for some time about not studying history chronologically, and this will get us back on track. I have also talked to M again, and he will be taking over their science education in the fall, using Oak Meadow 3 one-two days a week, and Oak Meadow 1 one day a week, to lighten my load a little, and because he loves science and would enjoy the time with the kids.

In the meantime, we'll be studying Asia, dinosaurs (found this great book on dinosaurs from China), and cavemen - I have put The Boy of the Painted Cave on hold at the library to try reading aloud. We've put our nature studies on hold since the kids really, really want to study dinosaurs!

And speaking of education, I have made a major decision that wasn't easy. I had already planned on taking an "extra" semester to graduate (Bachelor's degree), but I realized over the last few weeks that I need to extend that self-imposed deadline one more semester. Taking classes at two colleges (thirteen units) is too hard right now with everything else, and the kids' homeschooling (not to mention my housework) is really suffering. I know there are people out there that can handle a full load at school along with everything else, but I find myself increasingly resentful of the time my 3 unit class takes up (two mornings a week). So, I will finish this semester, take the summer off - I was planning on math, but I can't seem to find the energy to make myself go to class four mornings a week for 3 hours a morning, for eight weeks and work about 25 to 30 hours a week - then in the fall, do only the ten unit class at the university. When I finish this program, I will finish off my other undergrad units for a semester, and then for my final semester, take all the pre-req's for the credentialing program. Therefore I am looking at a graduation date of sometime in May/June of 2011 rather than December/January 2010/11. Not too far off! I wanted to finish sooner, but as a few wise moms pointed out, my family and my sanity are more important than getting done quickly. Plus with interning programs available for credentialing, I may be actually teaching sooner than I had originally hoped. Not sure now why this was such a hard decision, but I sure felt a lifting on the load on my back once I made it!

Anyhow, I had better stop rambling and get the kids somewhere near ready for the day. We have homeschoolers' drop-in gymnastics, I have work later (we're skipping Park Day this week), etc.