October plans...

Here's a quick run-down of what we will study in October, as much for my own reference as anything else!

Language Arts
Elf: Finish The Mouse & the Motorcycle, summarizing the story in a few sentences per chapter, with pictures. Start Henry Huggins OR The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Do lessons 3 and 4 in Writing Tales (lessons cover 2 weeks each). Start working on G.U.M. or Daily Edit programs. Work on D'Nealian handwriting in preparation for cursive.

Fairy: Work through the letters C-M in Oak Meadow 1 (3 letters a week), and related print-outs/workbook pages. Work in HWOT. She loves being read to, so in addition to the Oak Meadow fairy tales, I am putting a lot of these books on hold at the local library. They're just lovely.

Math
Elf: lessons 16-31 in Saxon Math 3 (we only do math 4 days a week)
Fairy: lessons 36-51 in Saxon Math 1

History
Chapters 22-25 in SOTW, with narrations/summaries. Project-wise, we need to finish our Greek vases and then I haven't chosen yet.
Finish The One-Eyed Giant and move into the 2nd book in Tales from the Odyssey

Elf has done a map of our county with notable geographical features labeled on it and now we'll move on to Native Americans of the area. There is a great hiking trail about an hour or so from our house that has points of interest labeled along the way, and in reading the signs, you get a great sense of the day-to-day life of the Miwok Indian.

Science
We're using One Small Square Woods as a jumping off point for nature studies in October. Also, the kids decided today that they really, really want to do this funny, very informative, and really cool (not to mention free) life science program. So, nature studies once-a-week-ish, and life science twice a week, more or less. We'll see. They may decide after a week or two that one science is enough, so I am putting together a list of supplemental books for the One Small Square stuff. Or, maybe we'll do life science once a week (just the reading and worksheets) and do nature studies twice a week... hmmm.... methinks I like that idea!

Other
We are busy, busy, busy! The kids' dance teacher asked today if I would like to bump the Fairy up to the next level of ballet and tap classes after the winter break. She won't be technically old enough even then, but apparently she dances well enough! We are continuing with roller skating and drop-in gymnastics, Park Day, our homeschool 4H (all kinds of crafts and stuff), field trips... we have two in October: one to a pumpkin patch and the other to a fantastic aquarium. Plus, they love their charter school classes - art and gardening. Phew!

My "baby" just lost her first tooth!

A close-up

One happy girl, waiting for the Tooth Fairy to come tonight!

History and science rotations

2007-08 (1st & Pre-K)
History: We studied Ancient Times, from cave people up through a whirlwind look at Greeks & Romans
Science: Real Science 4 Kids Biology (prelevel 1), with extra books and projects

2008-09 (2nd & K)
History: Took the year off to do World Cultures
Science: Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry; study of flora, fauna, etc. from World Cultures

2009-10 (3rd & 1st)
History: Ancient Greeks through Vikings
Science: Life Science (aka Biology), maybe dinosaurs
Elf: County History (basically a few field trips here and there, and a couple of biographies)

2010-11 (4th & 2nd)
History: Medieval Times through the Age of Exploration
Science: Earth & Space sciences

2011-12 (5th & 3rd)
History: Age of Exploration through Early Modern Times (roughly 1850) with additional resources for U.S. history
Science: Chemistry

2012-13 (6th & 4th)
History: Modern Times, with U.S. History blended in. Maybe a brief state history
Science: Physics

2013-14 (7th & 5th)
History: Ancient Times
Science: Linked to history studies

2014-15 (8th & 6th)
History: The Middle Ages
Science: Linked to history studies

2015-16 (9th & 7th)
History: Early Modern Times, with some focus on U.S.
Science: Geology & Astronomy

2016-17 (10th & 8th)
History: Modern Times, with some focus on U.S.
Science: Environmental Science

2017-18 (11th & 9th)
History: Political Science/Government (for Elf); ??? for Fairy
Science: Chemistry

2018-19 (12th & 10th)
History: Independent study (Elf); Women in History (for Fairy)
Science: Physics (Elf); Women in Science (Fairy)

2019-20 Fairy only
History: Political Science/Government
Science: Physics

2020-21 Fairy only
History: Independent Study
Science: Independent Study

Borrowing a post topic...

from Athena Academy. Thanks!

Our Homeschooling Who, What, When, Where, Why and How

Who: I am the primary teacher, curriculum planner, etc. M is the hands-on project guy and general support. Elf is my 8 year old, train-car-plane-space-robot-Lego loving 3rd grader, and Fairy is my 6 year old, fairy-music-dancing-dirt-worshipping 1st grader.

What: We use what is called an "eclectic" approach. I take bits and pieces from various disciplines - Charlotte Mason, classical education via The Well Trained Mind, and the more Waldorf-inspired Oak Meadow. I use Oak Meadow as a base curriculum, Charlotte Mason for the nature-friendly, short lesson approach, and classical ed in that we are doing a modified version of the history/science rotation, alongside Oak Meadow & the state's history/science focuses. We did meander away from it, but are meandering back. They'll study history and science together for at least the next few years, though I think I may split them when Elf reaches 6th grade. For more on our history and science rotations, go here.

My kids follow a lot of their own interests too. Elf is interested in dragons, robotics and tap right now, while Fairy is all about cooking, dancing, and Olivia at the moment.

When: All along so far. My kids have never really been to school, though they do attend some classes at a charter school through which we are enrolled as a Home Study family. We decided on homeschooling before we even had kids. M had poor experiences in school, and I wasn't too fond of it either. Plus with budget cuts, large class sizes, a lack of focus on arts and sciences... the list could go on and on. Homeschooling is just where it is at for us.

Why: To allow a very individualized education for both our children. To allow them to move at their own rates, spend more time on something they love, and less on things that they don't. Plus, I love being the one that gets to see the moment when they realize something, or figure it out.

How: Well, we sit down and do lessons! Seriously - we spend some time at the kitchen table, some on the couch, some in the chair-and-a-half. We read aloud, do hands-on projects, do copywork, work through math lessons... I try to do as much as I can with both kids at the same time, in the interest of saving time, but I split them up for language arts (though I found yesterday that having Elf so math at the same table Fairy and I are doing language arts at worked well).

And there you have it!

Weekly report for Sept. 14-18... week 3...

It hasn't been the most productive week ever, but we did hit the books a few times!

Elf
We're behind in Writing Tales, already. But, since we have a 36 week academic year, and there are only 30 weeks of lessons, I figure we'll catch up fairly easily. Other than that, he's been reading like mad, both from The Mouse & the Motorcycle, and his beloved Calvin & Hobbes. He also gets Odyssey magazine, and since it arrived a couple of days ago, he's been deeply into reading that as well.

In math, he's continuing the review work present in the first 20 or so lessons of Saxon Math 3. So far, he hasn't dawdled or given me trouble with this - he does one worksheet side and a drill or other supplementary page each day.

Other than that, I am going to start using the Mouse & the Motorcyle for an Oak Meadow style blank book - he'll write a (brief) summary of what he has read and draw a picture related to the summary. I picked up a bunch of blank books this week for this, and other (see below) purposes. He is really enjoying art and tap classes - his tap teacher says he is doing a fantastic job, and he practices nearly every day. He's also having fun planting a garden bed at the charter school with his new buddy R, and his "old" buddy A.

Fairy
Change of plans/approach here - we missed Oak Meadow! So I picked it up at the charter school at the same time I picked up all the blank books. We're three weeks late starting, but since the first 12 weeks of first grade in OM are alphabet review, I figure we'll just do 3 letters a week instead of 2, having done A and B already this week. Then, when we hit word families, etc., I'll add our other resources back in as supplements.

In math, she is continuing Saxon 1 with no problems. Her drawings for the word problems are less involved than Elf's were at that age, but simple is fine, and faster! She loves to do math verbally as well, and is frequently coming up to me to say things like "4 + 6 is 10, Mommy".

She loves her combo dance class - she and Elf were practicing tap moves in the kitchen last night, although she's been talking about going back to straight ballet (maybe in January?). She also loves her charter school classes where she has plenty of friends.

Both
We're thinking of switching things up, and trying ice skating next week, rather than roller skating. This would leave Mondays completely free until Fairy's dance class later in the afternoon. Plus, the ice rink is closer to home, and cheaper! We can even stop at our favorite library branch just down the street afterwards.

History... well, we're a little behind where I hoped to be. This is entirely my fault, as I keep putting off reading about the early Greeks until we have the supplies for our chosen craft project, and I can never seem to remember to pick up balloons at work! We'll be making paper-mache Greek vases. Still, we're continuing with The One Eyed Giant, and enjoying that. I got blank books for drawings and notes about our history studies. I also want to start county history with Elf (another blank book), so I plan to read the first chapter of a small, locally published book to him, and then have him draw, and label, a county map.

In science, we're just enjoying our local habitats. We have blank books for nature journaling now, and we chceked out a couple of books on creatures the kids are interested in - crickets and ants. We're also learning about blue jays, after seeing a few in our yard earlier this week. Perhaps we'll make some peanut-butter-birdseed-pinecones to hang outside and see what birds we attract! A friend has generously offered to get us a few owl pellets from her brother-in-law, so when we get to Woods, we'll study owls as well. I am trying to be a little more organized in our nature studies, but not to much avail, yet.

In other outside activities, we had our first Engineering project, through the homeschool 4H (not animals, just projects). we made a few paper planes of various types, and balsa wood models, to test flight, aerodynamics, etc. The leader's father was there, and as an engineer, was able to explain a lot about wind resistance, Bernoulli's Principle, and more, to the kids (well, the adults too). I had a hard time dragging the kids away afterwards, as the boy of the leader has TONS of Legos, and really cool puppets - all different animals. My kids wanted to stay and play forever!

Now I am off to plan lessons for next week. I find planning ahead really does help!

Redwood pictures... Wordless Wednesday

Homeschooling Stereotypes...

Borrowed from another blog...

There's a bit of a long-standing stereotype that homeschool Moms :

drive mini-vans
Nope. Though I am considering an old Volvo. You know, a station wagon!

wear denim jumpers
I have not worn a denim jumper since maybe 3rd grade? Had a denim jumpsuit too (okay, it was the 70's!)

Turtlenecks
Occasionally, if it's really cold outside. But very rarely.

Sneakers
If you count Converse, which yes, are sneakers.

and have long hair
I did until I chopped it off.

often in braids or ponytails
When it was long, I almost always wore it in a ponytail. Now I only occasionally do.

I've also heard that we are all vegetarians
Off and on, yes.

strict fundamentalist Christians
Not so much.

Hippies
Guess so!

wear dresses to our ankles
I like dresses, but generally they are impractical for me.

never watch TV
Ummm.... yeah. As if. Yes, we watch TV!

don't allow our kids out of the house during school hours
Considering most of our outside activities are during "school hours", they're out a LOT!

keep our drapes closed during the day
No, because I like natural light!

General, rambling update...

Today was the first day the kids went back to the charter school for classes - Elf had Art and then Gardening, while Fairy had Gardening, and then Arts/Crafts/Stories.

Fairy knew a lot of the kids in her class from last year, while Elf knew only a couple of the kids in his. Two boys from last year were not returning this year, and his best-at-class buddy was MIA today. But, he quickly made friends with the new boy, and by break time, they were chatting away like old friends!

In homeschooling news, we've been (mostly) plugging along. I am having second thoughts about Fairy and Oak Meadow's first grade, and am thinking I could easily blend that in for her - the charter school has it, so I could get ahold of it by next week. I really do like the look of Oak Meadow for 4th grade (and up), and may have Elf go back to it then. 2nd and 3rd grades are where neither was thrilled with the book list, etc. Hmmmm.....

And just to wrap things up for today, here are some pics from our camping/backpacking trip in June!

Made it through day one...

And it went quite well! Even though no one else we knew could make it to skating, we went so the kids could practice (and it's totally P.E., right?). Then we stopped at Quizno's for a first-day-of-"school" lunch treat, and the kids learned about acrostics. When we got home, we found our package from Rainbow Resource waiting for us, couldn't have been better timing! After lunch, and some play time, we hit the books. I purposefully kept it light for yesterday, just the basics.

Both
We read the first few pages from the D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. At bedtime, we finished 2 more chapters in Danny, the Champion of the World. This has been one of our best read-alouds to date!

Elf
Math: started in Saxon Math 3, doing one side of the first worksheet, and a measuring page. It is review work, so he went right through it.
Language Arts: started Writing Tales. Read aloud the first story, then sequenced the story strips I had made. He then worked on making his own acrostic. He did a couple of pages in Explode the Code and took a spelling test (100%). He also started in a handwriting book that will lead him through denelien handwriting into cursive.

Fairy
Math: did a lesson from Saxon Math 1, using our new (replacement) set of linking cubes to great success.
Language Arts: Did a page in HM Phonics in Action book and made words from Easy Lessons for Teaching Word Families with her new letter magnets. She did 2 pages in ETC 1, and a couple of pages in HWOT My Printing Book.

Today will follow much the same idea for basic work, but I'll be adding in history with chapter 18 in Story of the World, volume 1. Yes, we are backtracking, but we really just kind of skimmed through Greek & Roman history, and the kids want to know more! Tomorrow will be science in the place of history. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that it continues to go well!

And, just for fun, the BBC 100 Book List. I have highlighted those I read in green. Most people, according to the BBC, will only have read 6 of these... I can't say I'm impressive with how many I have read, but at least it's more than 6!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (in french)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola (in french)
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery - I read it in an English translation (in french)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (in french)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo, again read an English translation (in french)