What a GOOD day...

Friday was hands-down the smoothest homeschooling day we have had in a while! We started out nice and early, going out to work in a local creek with the Cotati Creek Critters organization. We met up with the leaders, their interns, and a few other homeschooling families around 9, with the threat of rain imminent... chances of rain were at 99%! However, the rain was nice enough to hold off while we planted willows, examined a couple of tree frogs, sloshed through mud, and picked up trash. Just as we were finishing up, the skies opened, and it poured. We had so much fun though, and all the kids were damp and rosy cheeked by the end!

So, squishy and wet but happy, we headed home for hot apple cider. Afte the kids changed, and watched a movie, we sat down at the kitchen table for some lesson time. I had gotten Elf an inexpensive math workbook to reinforce some weak areas, and he loves the simple approach (and bright colors) of it. So he happily sat down to multiplication and place value while I worked with Fairy on number families to ten. I had Elf do some copywork and a few definitions too, from Writing Tales, while Fairy worked on letter sounds. I made some letter cards for her on 3x5 cards, making the letters as large as they could be and still fit so that she can trace them with her finger. We also did some work with the "at" family of words. She seems to be making progress....

We didn't do much else because I had to take off for work, but with nearly 3 hours of field time in the morning, I felt the basics at home were plenty. And the best part? NO complaining. NO whining! It was lovely.

Ooops!

Somehow I missed a comment (a week or so back) on my blog, and as a result, I almost missed this! My first blog award, thank you Jana!


Anyhow, following the rules, here are 7 things about me, and links to blogs I really enjoy. For the blog links, I am going to cheat, and say: Just look at my sidebar of blogs I read. All are by great mamas with beautiful blogs!

So now, 7 Things About Me:

1. I am really good at trying to overload myself. I am in college 3/4 time, preparing for a wetlands docent training program, teaching myself Algebra II, working outside the home part-time, and educating my children. Phew! Oh, and writing/illustrating a children's book as my senior project.

2. I am torn between my classical homeschooling self and my unschooling self. For example, I worry some days that Fairy is not reading, and not only that, but I think she may have developmental delays in this area. Other days I am able to step back and tell myself she will learn it when she is ready. I try not to let any of this emotional bouncing back and forth get through to her though!

3. I have never had a Twinkie, nor do I plan to.

4. My biggest wish is that I could be a stay-at-home mom. Not possible right now, but maybe someday after M goes back to school this fall! BTW, in case you are curious, he's going to be doing a certificate in Natural Resource Management, and, maybe at the same time, hopefully work as a supervisor for a local conservation corps while working toward becoming a park ranger. Now that will be cool! Right now he is a warehouse manager, and that just isn't where he sees himself in the long haul.

5. I am a terrible housekeeper. I am very, very bad at actually folding laundry and putting it away. There are arts-&-crafts things all over my house, and books, and then some more books, and no matter how many dishes I do, there always seem to be more lurking about. I try to be organized, but I'm just not there yet.

6. I love old cartoons, like Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, etc. Thankfully my kids love them too. Right now, Elf is on a big "Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines" kick. The Perils of Penelope Pitstop are good too.

7. I have managed to avoid the whole birthday party rigamarole until now. Suddenly my children are demanding birthday parties, which reminds me... I need to get invitations out!

Let the madness stop!

Okay, phew. I am done making book lists.... for now ;) I get into phases where I love to think about the what-if's, and then I just need to get it all out of my system. Like, what if we unschooled for real? Or what if we did the 3 R's, but followed my kids' interests in everything else? Or, what if I actually managed to follow any of my carefully laid plans?

Anyhow, since life gets in the way...

Today we have two back-to-back 4 H projects on our agenda. First, food decorating, where we'll crumb-coat and then do a mosaic on cakes. Then, we have our first felting session. I am really looking forward to learning about felting! I'll make sure to take pictures of the cakes.

Since we are still having reading issues with Fairy, I am open to trying new approaches, so I got a couple of Montessori-method books from the library to help. Out of all the reading taht I have done about various methods, and all the ways of using those methods that different authors convey, I think the clearest and most simple approach I have come across is in Ready, Set, Read. At first I put this book back on the shelf, with all the talk about God. I don't mean to offend anyone, but generally I prefer secular materials. However, once I got myself past that, the advice in the book is simple, straightforward, and hopefully will work well since it takes a multi-sensory approach. So, I have alphabet cards all made up, with large letters (lowercase) that Fairy can trace with a finger. While she can "read" by memorizing entire books and then reciting them, I somehow don't really count that as reading. So, I'll use the above-mentioned book for letter/sound familiarity, and then I plan to use Easy Lessons for Teaching Word Families in combination with these readers. Easy Lessons combines letter cards and writing. Instead though, we use a small magnetic whiteboard and magnetic letter tiles to make the word families in each lesson.

We started our human body models yesterday, coloing all the layers of the head, which is focused on the 5 senses. I also had Elf read My Five Senses to Fairy. Today, I hope to squeeze in the time to cut all the fold-back flaps for the kids so we can assemble our work. If not today, then maybe tomorrow! I also hope to find time today for the 3 R's. And maybe today, The Story of the Romans will get here! Alright, I had better get Elf's jeans in the dryer and oatmeal on the stove.

If we were to do Earth & Space science...

In place of (or maybe in addition to) nature studies for next year, I would use...

Earth
Kingfisher Young People's Book of Planet Earth
The Amazing Earth Model Book
Geology Rocks! AND/OR How The Earth Works
Selected episodes from How the Earth Was Made

Space
Kingfisher Young People's Book of Space
Amazing Solar System Models You Can Build Yourself
We have a good telescope, so we'll use that too.
Jacqueline Mitton's beautiful books on constellations, the solar system, etc.
Selected episodes from The Universe
We might read George's Secret Key to the Universe as well
We're also lucky enough to have a nearby community college with a planetarium and shows open to the public.

Science Books 2010-2011...

Good books for nature studies

Main text(s)
Handbook of Nature Study (I downloaded the free online version)
Handbook of Nature Study Blog

Support Books
Clara Dillingham Pierson's Complete Among the People Series
Burgess Bird Book for Children
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
Peterson's (First) Field Guides:
Birds of North America
Trees
Seashore
Butterflies & Moths
Mammals of North America
Insects of North America
Reptiles & Amphibians
California Wildflowers (not a Peterson Guide, but looks good!)
Field Guide to Mushrooms

We may also get some Dover coloring books on birds, plants, the seashore, and more.

GREAT way to spend a Saturday...

We spent our day at the Exploratorium in San Francisco! We explored everything we could, but there is still a lot we didn't see, or at least didn't touch. The kids ran everywhere, and got into everything, which is exactly what they are supposed to do there. We stopped briefly to eat some lunch (and wow, the dining options have changed since I was a kid!), and then we ran back off to explore more. As we finally dragged ourselves out, the kids and M were discussing all the stuff we should check out next time.

Our only regret was that the Palace of Fine Arts was all closed off, so we couldn't go out under the dome. The children's great-great grandfather was in fact one of the stone masons hired in the 1960's to rebuild the structure, which had originally been built in 1915 for the Panama Pacific Exposition. So, we went around the lake and looked from a distance. Maybe next time it won't be fenced off, and the kids will be able to touch a piece of their family history!

New Schedule...

American History...

List under construction

Many of these titles (and the order) came from A Book in Time. Others come from Sonlight lists and Beautiful Feet's website. And others just from searching Amazon!

We're using Mara L. Pratt's four-volume set, American History Stories, as our spine, and will add in from the following lists as we feel needed.

FOR VOLUME 1, Discovery to French-Indian War
Books to Read
Leif the Lucky (in combination with D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths)
Eyewitness: Viking
You Wouldn't Want to be a Viking Explorer!
Pedro's Journal: A Voyage with Chistopher Columbus (may have Elf read this himself)
You Wouldn't Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus!
You Wouldn't Want to be a Pirate's Prisoner!
Columbus and/or The World of Columbus & Sons
Pocahontas
Miracle: The True Story of the Wreck of the Sea Venture
The Tempest
You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Mayflower!
Jamestown: New World Adventure
Sarah Morton's Day
Samuel Eaton's Day
Tapenum's Day
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist!
Our Strange New Land (and maybe The Starving Time and Season of Promise)
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Madeleine Takes Command

Project and Coloring Books/Other
Time Travelers CDs, New World Explorers and Colonial Life
Hands-on History: Vikings
Easy Make-&-Learn Projects: Colonial America
Interactive 3D Maps: American History
Story of the Vikings (Coloring Book)
Norse Gods & Goddesses (Coloring Book)
Indian Tribes of North America (Coloring Book)
Exploration of North America (Coloring Book)
Life in Colonial America (Coloring Book)


FOR VOLUME 2, Revolutionary Times
COMING SOON!

Medieval History Books 2010-2011

I got many of these titles, and the order, from A Book in Time. Chances are we'll never get through all of them, but it is still handy to have a list available! The first section is books I plan to read, and the second is books that we will read if we have time.

History of the Middle Ages Read-Alouds
The White Stag
Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children (also available to read online)
King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table OR Of Swords and Sorcerers
Across a Dark and Wild Sea
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
The Viking Tales (also available to read online)
Swords and Samurai
The Norman Conquest
William the Conqueror
The Stones of Green Knowe
Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess
Richard the Lionheart & the Crusades
Magna Carta
Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children (also available to read online)
Adventures of Marco Polo
The Door in the Wall
The Canterbury Tales

Part 2 - Maybe reads
St. George and the Dragon
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
A Medieval Feast
Mistral in the Tower
Genghis Khan
Sundiata: Lion King of Mali

History of the Middle Ages Reference & Project Books
Eyewitness Knight
Eyewitness Medieval Life
Eyewitness Castle
Eyewitness Arms & Armor
Stephen Biesty's Castle
Eyewitness Viking
D'Aulaires Book of Norse Myths
Eyewitness Islam
Knights & Castles: 50 Hands-On Activities
Days of Knights & Damsels: Hands-On Activities

I love old books... and a weekly report....

M and I decided the kids should just do a year of nature study next year, the kind where we go out with pencils and sketch books in hand, then come home to learn more about what we saw and drew. Very Charlotte-Mason-y. Anyhow, I was browsing Living Books Curriculum and saw a book called The Fairyland of Science (which immediately made me think of my Fairy), went to Amazon to look it up, and promptly found a whole bunch of nature-based story books put out by Yesterday's Classics....
The Storybook of Science
Among the Pond People
Among the Forest People
Among the Night People
Among the Farmyard People
Among the Meadow People

I think these might be fun supplementary reading for nature studies! We also have a bunch of gorgeous guides by the (now defunct) Nature Company. And a few books on nature-based projects/experiments. I am also eying this nature portfolio, and some coloring books from Dover Publications.

As for a weekly report, we haven't done much due to illness in our home this week. We are now all on antibiotics, so we should be ready to roll by next week!

Language Arts
Reviewed some of Phonics Pathways with Fairy, who aslo worked on Dick & Jane stories, and Bob Books. Her handwriting is coming along nicely. She still writes many letters from the bottom up, but as long as she is comfortable writing that way and it is legible, I don't see this as a huge issue. I'm reading Ramona the Brave to her, which she loves!

Elf started cursive writing this week, which he thinks is "cool". He also did some work in G.U.M., and is reading the second book in the Dairy of a Wimpy Kid series, in addition to his assigned reading in The Magician's Boy. I tried doing more narration with him this week versus writing, and it went really smoothly. For example, in GU.M., he had to change sentences into questions, and vice versa. Instead of dragging it out by having him write (yes, he is a very reluctant writer), he told me what the answer should be and I wrote it down for him. Charlotte Mason apparently advocated leaving the physical act of really writing (besides copywork) until around the age of 10. Maybe she had a point!

Math
We are continuing to work orally on multiplication tables. Elf also did some arrays, and Fairy worked on a couple of pages of number families 1-4.

History
We read about Romulus and Remus in SOTW, and then in Roman Myths. Both kids colored map pages from the SOTW activity book. We watched a documentary too, called Where Did It Come From? Ancient Rome - the Rise of Apartments, which covered not only apartments, but the Roman water system, how they dry-cleaned their linens (eeeewww, it was aged urine), earthquakes, the first fire department, and more.

Science
We learned a lot about ear canals, etc., this week by visiting the doctor! So, since we've got a start on it, we're skipping ahead in Elementary Life Science to the units on the human body. Elf and Fairy also spent a LOT of time this week playing around with interactive natural disaster stuff on the National Geographic website.

Art
My mom kept the kids one morning to do arts and crafts. They made bubble paintings (in which they ended up more colorful than the paper), clothes-pin magnets decorated with sea shells, beads, and tiny fake flowers..

Other
We read another couple of chapters in Despereaux, and listened to another couple of chapters of Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The kids learned how to make semi-poached eggs (not technically poached, but close enough, and very yummy), and they helped me make dinner a couple of times.

Looking back at it, while we didn't do a lot of sit-down lessons, we did seem to do quite a bit of learning!

Wordless Wednesday... old pics....

Homeschooling myself...

In getting my degree, I have to jump through a few hoops... one of which is math. I have to take Intermediate Algebra and get a C or better in order to get into Statistics, which is the "acceptable" math course for graduation. So I tried taking Int. Algebra. The first time, I missed a passing grade by 3 points. I will openly admit, math is NOT my strong point, at least not when I get into more advanced topics. So I thought I'd try again this semester. Unfortunately for me, I chose an early morning class, assuming my boss would be willing to work around my schedule as was promised when I was hired. Nope. I keep getting closing shifts the day before class, which results in maybe 5 hours of sleep. Not working for me. So I dropped the class today, before dropping it would result in a bad grade (or the dreaded "W" for withdrawal). What can I do now? Well, I have my textbook, and a handy dandy website, so I am going to homeschool myself in algebra, and do my darndest to test out of algebra and straight into Statistics! Thankfully, the community college I am taking math through will let me take the placement test twice a semester if needed. Hopefully this plan will work. If not, in the worst case scenario, I can retake the algebra class over the summer while the kids take swimming lessons. We'll see!