Weekly Wrap-up... 1/23-1/27...

A better week than the last!
In Language Arts...
Bug is reading through his beloved Percy Jackson series yet again. I also assigned a book, Homer Price, and Bug read 2 chapters.


Bug worked on copywork, choosing Shel Silverstein's "Recipe For A Hippopotamus Sandwich", which he will also attempt to memorize. We did spelling in context this week rather than something formal and separate. After a lot of reading, I think I'll stick with Ambleside Online's recommendations for language arts, mixed with Brave Writer suggestions, so I'd like to move Bug into doing written narrations. In February, we plan on starting his first major writing project, the topic of which shall be dragons!

Cricket worked hard on phonics this week. She picked back up her daily lessons over at ClickN' Read, getting 95-100% on the 4 lessons done, and read aloud every day from a leveled reader. The ClickN' Read Phonics program is based on the same methods as Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and seems quite thorough. She likes the computer visuals more than the book. After she finishes this program, I plan to move her into Funnix Level 2. Funnix, by the way, will be free for download during the first few days of February! I also hope at that point that I can make use of the lovely Elson Readers I have stashed away.

In Math...
We are continuing with Math Mammoth at the moment. Bug worked on a review in multiplication, and division, while Cricket was introduced to beginning multiplication. I love how straightforward and simple the Math Mammoth workbooks are! Cricket took to her new topic like a duck to water. Bug enjoyed finding patterns in multiplication, between the 2's, 4's, and 8's, then 3's, 6's, 9's and 12's.

We had some fun in math too, watching a video I hadn't seen since childhood...

After watching this, the kids spent a while playing pool on Cool Math Games, and drawing various geometric shapes. Bug asked about the "square roots" Donald Duck mentioned, so I started teaching him about squaring (and cubing) numbers, and then how that relates to square roots. This tied in nicely with his multiplication review as well! Then, the relationship between music and math came in handy at his piano lesson as well.

In History and Science...
We started exploring the Cambrian period, learning about fossils, early animal life, and so on. The kids watched a video...

And we read/browsed through a few books...




We'll be making these super-cute trilobite cookies this weekend, but, hands-down, the best part of history/science this week was the fossil kit...



Otherwise in science, we're going to start fresh with The Magic of Reality next week.


We read the first few pages of this book, and really liked it, but then set it aside to try BFSU again, which, as much as I want it to work, it doesn't for us. My children (and I) prefer to dig deeply into a topic, rather than going from one to another. I do plan to keep my digital copies of BFSU Volumes I and II for reference materials, and suggestions of topics to peruse. In the meantime, we're going back to reading living books, supplemented with shorter books, hands-on activities, and videos/documentaries.

Bug also read the first three chapters of Great Inventors and Their Inventions on my Kindle. This is an Ambleside Online recommendation for year 5, and Bug was caught up by it right away (well that, and getting to use the Kindle!) I looked in the Kindle store and found most of the science-y books AO recommends for free! Free, and vintage, is always exciting to me!

Again we didn't get to the outdoor hour challenge, but will try again next week.

Over at their Nonna's house in the mornings, the kids have been watching 1900 House, so that when I go to pick them up, they are full of fantastic narrations for me about what they saw that day!

In Art and Music...
Bug moved up a level in piano, and is now learning proper use of the pedals in music. He really loves the song he was assigned this week, which is great because then he's eager to practice! I am thinking of having Cricket maybe take lessons too, if she has any interest.

We listened to some more music from Franz Schubert, our Composer of the Month. And we meant to, but didn't, get around to an art project based on Wassily Kadinsky's Squares with Concentric Circles, so I think he'll remain our Artist of the Month for another month!

In Literature...
We are about halfway through The Hobbit, and almost done listening to Half Magic. One thing we very much appreciate about Half Magic is that they used more than one actor to do the audio book, so all the children have distinctive voices. Unfortunately, our library does not have an audio version of Magic by the Lake (the second book after Half Magic), so I think I'll do that as a read aloud after The Hobbit. And for our next audio book, I have The Phantom Tollbooth on hold - I imagine David Hyde Pierce will make a fantastic narrator for that particular story! We also read a few folk tales and fairy stories this week, as usual, and I read aloud several pieces of poetry from Walter de la Mare, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickinson.

In Other News...
We had a good play day with friends Thursday, which involved a lot of trampoline time. And Park Day Friday, with a clear, cold, sunny sky.



Friday night, M was gone at a friend's (so that they could take off early for a fishing Saturday), so the kids and I watched Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. And Saturday is Library day, plus a little make-up work since we didn't get anything much done on Thursday.

And that's our week! Drop by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers to read about other people's homeschooling adventures!

Scientific musings...

With yesterday's post still fresh in mind, I started thinking about science, and various routes we could take. I have history figured out, and math, language arts (I think), etc., but a decision for science eludes me. I have come up with three paths, and cannot, for the life of me, decide which to follow! Though I can say we'll definitely continue with nature studies.

Path 1:
Elementary Science Education (second volume of BFSU), supplemented with living books, videos, and hands-on.
Pros: I own the book already, and have the sequence I would follow all mapped out. For supplemental books, there is my own collection of books, and the library, while for videos we have Netflix and again the library. This book, like the first volume, covers the 4 threads of science - life, earth, physical, and chemistry, intertwining them and allowing kids to make connections between them.
Cons: Practical application can be tricky, and switching between threads sometimes goes against continuing interests. I have to be organized to make this work!

Path 2:
Using The Story of Science series and Milestones in Science to compliment our history studies. I could easily add in extra literature, biographies, and videos/documentaries.
Pros: Again, I already own the first volume of the Story of Science (along with the student Quest Guide)! So that would get us through the first year... and I have access to tons of supplemental stuff.
Cons: How science-y is this? Would it be enough actual science, or is it too heavy on history? And I would have to buy the science kit mentioned above.

Path 3:
Using David Macaulay's books - and a few others - as the basis for a series of unit studies on different scientific topics: The Way We Work (anatomy); The Way Things Work (physics); The Way Life Works (NOT a Macaulay book , but still good - life science); and then books for chemistry, earth science, and astronomy... have to research those.
Pros: I own some of these books already, and a ton of extra resources to compliment them. We'd be able to explore each topic in depth, and I would allow the kids to choose which topics we study.
Cons: Finding some good resources (earth, chemistry, etc.) might not always be easy. There might be some areas we miss out on by doing a unit study approach. And yes, I would have to be fairly organized to make this work, plus there's always the chance that the kids will get bored with a topic before we finish it.

So obviously I have some more thinking to do!

Usually...

Usually, this is the time of year that I start drooling over what to buy for next year. Usually, I have magazines dog-eared and ink-stained, websites bookmarked with wish lists galore. But this year, another few moms and I have been chatting on a message board about not buying. That's the thing with homeschooling - somehow we end up with loads of materials that, by and large, go unused. We started brainstorming about what-if's. What if we simply used what we already have? Do we need more? Do we need the newest-shiniest-"most organized"- this-year's-must-have?

We're studying pre-history right now, without a planned curriculum, without a guide, just using books, videos, discussion, and projects, and we are learning, and enjoying ourselves! I would like to start ancient history in the fall, for which I have plenty of materials, without buying another guide, another how-to.

Instead of spending money on more books, more guides, and the like, I could instead buy a membership to the science museum (we have a really good one just an hour away). I could buy those cool science kits I have been eyeballing for years. I could get more art supplies. There are many things I can of to do with money if it is not going on more books, more curriculum packages, which inevitably end up on a shelf... well, at least the curriculum guides do because we're not good at following those.

There are a couple of things I am thinking about... a good Latin program for Beetle, another Life of Fred book or two. But I don't need English programs, or spelling guides, or history texts.

I think my goal for fall is to make good use of what I have on hand, and we'll see how that goes!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Sick week 1/16-1/20...

It has been a sick week here, and really not very productive. Cricket had this the prior weekend - high fever, a nasty cough, sore throat, and exhaustion - then M got it, and finally Bug. Poor Bug has been miserable all week. Thankfully, the worst seems to have passed. He still sounds creaky and gravelly-voiced, but he's doing better.

We got half a math page from each child this week. Cricket did practice her reading, and I continued reading from The Hobbit to them, along with American folk and tall tales from a couple of library books. We did a little copywork, with Bug working on a Walter de la Mare poem, and Cricket a winter poem by "Anonymous". Bug did read all of Cabin Fever in one long afternoon, but other than that, it has been a week of movies, blankets, and hot tea. Oh, they did watch a few episodes of Walking With Prehistoric Beasts!

Next week, we'll work on incorporating our new approach to language arts, and we'll delve into fossils and the Cambrian era in history. I am looking forward to the kids checking out this kit, and we get to make these fun cookies! In science we'll be exploring gravity, and in math we'll finish up our measurement unit with a couple of funny and informative books, while at the same time working our way through some more Math Mammoth.

I'm looking forward to another nice quiet weekend at home, with lots of rain! Don't forget to drop by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers for more weekly wrap-ups!

Dropping the writing curriculum...

While I love the premise of Igniting Your Writing, and I think the writing assignments are pretty solid, it just isn't quite hitting the spot for us. Instead, I have been drooling over the Brave Writer Lifestyle. I signed up for the yahoo group with reminders right away, and have been reading them in my inbox, thinking "someday, I should implement these ideas!" Well, I think someday is here. It seems to me a very Charlotte Mason-ish approach, which I love.

Here is a quote from the Brave Writer site that I found quite enlightening--as I am a public school product, I always think more is better when it comes to writing, and it worries me that Beetle doesn't write a lot. But this helps...

"A mother asked us at Brave Writer if she was doing enough writing with her child. She told us that her son wrote in his journal on Monday, wrote a poem on Tuesday, crafted a short three paragraph essay on Wednesday, sent a thank you note to his grandmother on Thursday and polished a written narration on Friday. Was that enough writing for her 11 year old? she sincerely wondered. We responded, “That’s more writing than anyone should do in a week!”"

Less is more apparently. According to my email this morning, I should have him do some good copywork once a week. Just once. And there are other approaches to literary awareness, such as poetry tea time, and movies. Yes, movies. And art appreciation, nature journaling, listening to stories... all of it enriches a child's linguistic skills, which in turn leads to better writing.

So, how will I do this? I have a loose schedule in mind, and plan to incorporate more ideas from the daily emails as we go. For now, with Bug, I have planned:
Monday Copywork
Tuesday Poetry Tea Time
Wednesday Art appreciation (may include narration, written or verbal)
Thursday Nature Journal
and Fridays, when we get to them (we tend to "do school" 4 days a week), free writing, or movie time.

Of course, he'll continue with spelling and our grammar lessons. Next month, I'll start the writing project phase of the Brave Writer Lifestyle. And the month after that, maybe some Shakespeare, and eventually dictation.

For Cricket (and Bug), I can immediately incorporate language games, one-on-one time, and read alouds, which we do already. Cricket can do copywork as well.

It will be interesting to see what this approach does for Bug's writing! At least he will continue to develop his vocabulary, listen to good stories, develop a comprehension of literature, and I think both kids will enjoy once-a-week tea time!

Week in Review, 1/9-1/13...

We are finally "back in school" and had a good week to start off with!

Language Arts...

Bug worked on spelling, using The Natural Speller and a homemade worksheet. I have decided, to save myself time and effort, that we'll simply use the same format on binder paper in the future. I had him alphabetize the words on day one, write them each twice on day two, and write sentences for them on days three and four, with day five being test day.

He worked on a lesson in Igniting Your Writing, and did some free writing about cars, a major passion in his life. He also did some copywork from Treasure Island, and did a beautiful job! There were a couple of minor mistakes on the first try, so I had him go back and correct them.

He continued to read from the Percy Jackson series, and is eagerly awaiting another Jeff Kinney book, Cabin Fever, which we ordered just this week. I imagine that the day it arrives, we'll have a hard time getting him to sleep at all!

Cricket and I focused on reading, which will remain the focus of her language arts for the time being. She read from The Bug in the Jug Wants a Hug, and made word families based off of her reading, and reviewed several stories in The Reading Lesson. She completed a lesson in Explode the Code, aced her spelling test (also in ETC), and started a new unit (review).


Math...
For our "regular" math, we used mostly Math Mammoth this week, with a little Developmental Mathematics thrown in at Cricket's request. Bug focused on understanding division, and did a worksheet on converting measurements and estimating. Cricket worked on adding hundreds and tens, as well as some measurement work, and another 100 chart (good practice).

For our other, living math, we read Measuring Penny and made these really cool GallonBots, which are now hanging in my kitchen. Cricket helped measure ingredients for cooking, and Bug estimated our grocery bill, adding in each item as we shopped.

History...
This was the week of the Big Bang! We read a little in Voyages Through Time: The Beginning and then we read Big Bang. We watched Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (episode 3 to be specific)... and we talked a lot about space, emptiness, planets, suns, the earth, and so on. Next week we're studying the formation of the earth, and then we'll move into fossils and archeology.

Science...
Well, we started out with a unit in life sciences from The Lab of Mr. Q, but it just didn't really suit us. I figured we were getting plenty of science with history this week, so I dropped it. Instead, I have decided on a return to Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. I have gone through my flow chart, crossed off all the topics we're familiar with, combined others, etc. I really like the looks of the second volume for next fall, so we're using this to gear up for that! I got a great idea from a message board to incorporate notebooking with BFSU, which is to put in dividers labeled with the four threads in the book, then add narrations, drawings, lab sheets, etc. to those sections as we go - a fun weekend project for me to set it up!

Nature Studies...
We're reading a very informative, and delightful, book called The Moon of the Moles. The illustrations are lovely, and both kids are enjoying the story as well. We'll probably wrap this up next week, and then start The Moon of the Owls. We're also reading from The Tarantula in My Purse, which is simply hilarious!

Next week I really hope to get into the swing of Outdoor Hour Challenges again. I signed up for the free newsletter, so we get a challenge emailed to us weekly. I think we might be able to do that on Thursdays, since that afternoon is clear from anything else at the moment.


Other...
We listened to some Schubert. We made a casserole for a sick friend and her family. We had a blast, as always, at our park day. We continued reading from The Hobbit and I read from The Sisters Grimm: The Fairy Tale Detectives to Cricket (I think Bug was listening in as well)...

No fancy weekend plans, just a nice quiet time at home. I have three days off which is quite nice! Don't forget to go over and check out more homeschool weekly wrap-ups at