Box Day

"Box day" is the term homeschoolers use for the exciting day when new curriculum arrives in the mail. It is very exciting! Tatiana had to stop in the middle of our lessons to peruse her goodies for next year (4th grade):

And chocolate was included! It just touches this Mama's heart to see my kids so excited about the year to come. I'm sure by this time of year many students just can't wait to finish this school year, let alone get excited about the next. (Although this teacher is excited about having a long summer break!)

Adventures.

 I think breaks are good for everyone, as they leave us all feeling refreshed and ready to tackle what is before us. Just some of the many adventures that we have taken this week as we return to schooling from Spring Break....

:: Spring craft from Family Fun ::

:: Nature study. Hanging this homemade bird feeder right in front of our school room window has been splendid for bird watching! I also picked up a copy of Critters of Illinois pocket guide to add to our study materials. The Husband actually read through the whole guide, exclaiming interesting tid-bits for me to hear. Nature fun for everyone. ::

:: We made these egg holders from Family Fun magazine, but unfortunately they wouldn't hold our decorated hard-boiled egg. I spontaneously decided to "blow" an egg so the kids could see how it was done & so we'd have an egg light enough for the holder. Craft and science. ::

:: Literary aids. Log house inspired by our read-aloud On the Banks of Plum Creek. That outer area of the house is the "lean-to". We're becoming huge Laura Ingalls Wilder fans! (I also rented one of the Little House TV series seasons from the library!) ::

:: Science ::

:: Oobleck ::

:: Liquid or solid? ::

:: Fun for fingers of all ages! ::

Do breaks leave you feeling refreshed?

A Parable

From today's English lesson:

Once a fox and a stork were good friends. The fox invited the stork to dinner. All they had to eat was soup. It was in flat dishes. The stork could put only the tip of his bill into the dish. The fox lapped his soup up quickly.


The next day the stork invited the fox to dinner. They had soup again. This time it was in a bottle. The stork could put his bill in and drink it, but the fox could only lick the outside of the bottle.

When asked what the moral of the story was, Tatiana proclaimed, "Hospitality!" It led into a really great conversation about considering and meeting the needs of others. A small joy in an otherwise ordinary day.

Cakes & Quakes

Our regular school routine was interrupted last week, but this week we are going to veer from our regularly scheduled program to learn about earthquakes and Haiti. We have already had some brief conversations about the devastation there, especially since the kids were asked to give some of their money at church to aid in the relief effort. Over the weekend, the littlest kids had a bake sale at church to raise money. Of course, we contributed:

 

:: my top-notch mixing expert ::

  

:: efficient & cute! ::

  

:: my quality control associate ::

  

:: everyone loves sprinkles ::

  

:: little fingers doing a big job ::

  

:: pretty & purposeful -- they were a hot-seller for the bake-sale ::

I left out the part where I tried a new sugar cookie recipe and lovingly mixed, chilled, rolled, cut, and baked and the blasted things turned out harder than a rock. Grrr. Next time, I am totally going to follow all the tips and recipes from this awesome cookie blog. But I digress.

This week we are making an earthquakes & Haiti lapbook. (Remember our first adventures with lapbooks?) I am using the free earthquake lapbook resources here and supplementing with good library books, good conversation, and good thoughts. I just love using real-life events or experiences to make learning come alive!

Have the recent events in Haiti spurred on any good conversation with your kids?

No-schooling Week!

We survived another 5 weeks of homeschooling and so, our reward? One week off! 

Highlights included:

* a morning of bowling using free bowling game coupons from specially marked boxes of Tony's pizza. I just paid for the girls' shoe rental and the nice man behind the counter let them bowl a second game for free! Praise God for small surprises.

* lunch with some friends after bowling, including some Corn Chowder from my freezer & store bought french bread

* two evenings of fires in our fireplace. Me knitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. The girls chillin'. The Husband playing his guitar. Our son pointing repeatedly to the fire. One night included Dad's famous special rap-song reading of Llama, Llama Red Pajama.

* Planning of the next 5 weeks of school. Planning math is the hardest part because of all the different workbooks & extra exercises that Tatiana needs to cement the skills. I am so excited to start our study of the 50 states & start filling up our U.S. Notebook.

* Organizing of our homeschooling cupboard and Sienna's school box. It was looking quite the mess! Buried in the piles, I found some Mad Libs Jr. that I can add to Tatiana's English lessons. Sweet. I had to actually write it into our lesson plans. I find that if it something isn't actually planned, it doesn't get done.

All tidied up!

* Pre-tracing some cutting & gluing activities for Sienna from Cut & Create for All Seasons.

Activities traced & ready to assemble.

* Drooling over the Book of Days at Blue Yonder Ranch. I could never get the Friday nature walks to gel into our routine. Maybe this is a solution? Fridays were supposed to be 'light schooling' days with nature walks and art lessons. The art lessons just weren't a good fit either. I am replacing them with weekly activities from Home Economics for Girls. I was able to purchase this book used for a song this last week and I can't wait to get it!

  

And th-th-th-that's all folks!

Good Ole Ben

Excerpt from Exploring American History about Benjamin Franklin:

 He kept a little book in which he wrote down his faults. If he wasted half an hour of time or a shilling of money, or said anything that he should not have said, he wrote it down in his book. He carried that book in his pocket all his life, and he studied it, as a boy at school studies a hard lesson.

Can you even imagine? I would hate to keep track of my own faults for a day, let alone for my entire life AND to study them. Ever since we read this as part of our History lesson last Monday, it has rattled around in my mind. What would we learn about ourselves if we committed to this practice, even if only for a day? Even though part of me shudders at the thought, the other part of me has been chalking up mental tally marks every time I err or waste something or say the wrong thing. Quite a lesson, I tell ya.

And what did Good Ole Ben learn from this practice? Our history book says that his lessons were three: Do the right thing; do it at the right time; do it in the right way. And honestly, it seems like pretty sound advice. Now that I've read about the lessons he had learned, I am analyzing the things that I do or that others do that just don't seem to be quite right and have found that they usually fit into one of those three categories. Either I did the completely wrong thing or maybe my husband had good intentions but his timing was off or perhaps my friend was trying to do the right thing but her message got lost because of an inappropriate delivery. It's no wonder Ben went on to help pen the Declaration of Independence.

Amazing what God can use when we are listening. Like a third-grader's history lesson about Benjamin Franklin.

Five Weeks Already?

My creatively developed schedule for this year allows for "5 weeks On and 1 week Off" of school. I think I love it. Last Friday marked the last day of the first 5 week stretch. We are planning some fun field trips for this week and I will be pre-planning for the next five weeks. Here's a look back at what & how things are working for us!

Sienna

Curriculum: Little Hands to Heaven

Bible/History: So far we have studied the Creation Story, Noah, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph.

Letters: A-D with all sorts of different actitivies, both fine and gross motor skills. We have learned a weekly rhyme/fingerplay that corresponds to each letter sound and incorporates the current Bible story. Each week we make a large letter on the carpet with blue painter's tape. Makes for a great visual and opportunities for lots of creative play: walking on the letter, walking a stuffed animal on the letter, trying to 'feel' the letter with our feet while our eyes are closed, placing wooden blocks on the letter to cover it up, plus just the constant visual of the letter we are studying. This is a great idea for any-kind-of-schooler for letter recognition!

Numbers: 1-5

Nature: As a means of learning through God's Creation, we are incorporating nature walks into our week and everyday life. We have added several pages to our nature journal, looked up different kinds of birds and flowers online and have caught several spiders to keep as temporary 'pets'. We keep these pets in little glass jars and the most exciting part for the kids is when they spin webs inside the jars. Creepy, I know.

Tatiana

Curriculum: Adventures in My Father's World

Bible: The Hubs is handling the Bible section. They are studying a different 'name' of Jesus each week and are making a Names of Jesus poster. There is also a memory verse that goes along with each week and the two of them have been looking up lots of different Bible verses (Sword Drill!) and discussing them. This has been a really great way to get Dad involved in schooling and a practical way that he can demonstrate his spiritual leadership of our family.

History: Pilgrims. Again. I balked at this fact when I decided to switch curriculum, but find it working out more pleasantly than I thought. I think being a year older, Tatiana can learn at a deeper level and since the subject matter is somewhat familiar, she can focus on more specifics. We've also started a U.S. Notebook, which will be filled with various pages pertaining to U.S. History, including a brief study page on each of the 50 States. So far it has a few patriotic songs and some copywork/picture pages based on what we've been reading.

Book Basket: We love the book basket! This is just a collection of library books pertaining to our History topic. Tatiana looks through the books for 15 minutes a day. As long as she is reading them, she can pick and choose any one in the basket. The best part is that our the writers of our Christian curriculum have already pre-read all of the recommended books and they are listed in the appendix. I reserve all the ones I want online through our library system and just go pick them up when ready. This would be a great addition to any-kind-of-schooler's day, for supplemental parent-approved reading time!

Handwriting: We are using Pictures in Cursive by Queen Homeschool and really love it. Each group of lessons is actually a picture study of a fine piece of artwork. I love the idea that Tatiana is being exposed to great art and that it is integrated with the cursive lessons, as opposed to just writing something unrelated like "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog".

Spelling: We are using Spelling Wisdom. She learns to identify 'trouble' words and these become her spelling words. Each lesson is a quote, virtue, or piece of good literature. Tatiana learns to spell the words through a serious of specific steps and the 'test' is actually a dictation of the lesson. Again, I love that the words are within the context of a good value, instead of just random words. It's a reminder to me to discuss some of these virtues and what they mean for our everyday lives

Read-Aloud: Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Bulla

Independent Reading: So far, Tatiana has polished off Kit Kitteredge: An American Girl, Mystery in the Theatre: An American Girl Mystery, and a biography of Helen Keller. She has just started on a book called Hannah.

Math: We are still plugging along with Singapore Math. I have thought about switching many times, but have been unsure whether the curriculum is the problem or whether it's just a weak spot for this particular child. I've come to the conclusion that I think it's a little of both. I am supplementing with flash card, fun workbooks pertaining to the exact skill being learned (multiplication/division) and the biggest change so far has been my/our attitudes. We are playing lots of games to MAKE MATH FUN. I think if it's not such a drag for Tati then it won't be one for me either. I've found ideas for dice games, math bingo games, and more.

Science: We've had some intro lessons one What Science Is and What Scientist Do and right now are focusing on constellations and His Creation of the universe. I highly recommend the book Constellations for Every Kid by Janice Van Cleave. I find it very extraordinary for parental learning as well as for children loaded with great activities to make star-gazing doable for the everyday kid. I hope to squeeze in some of these activities this week, as the kiddos will be able to stay up later since we won't have our normal school schedule during the days.

And I can't neglect to leave my little guy out. He's what makes me want to pull my hair out our school days challenging!

Phew! Thanks for humoring my school days recap!

School Bits: Lapbooks

What is a lapbook? Well, I'm glad you asked! {Well, not really YOU, but...} Anyhow, a lapbook is basically a educational tool made from a file folder that you fill with little activities, mini-books, games, and information based on whatever your topic is. Topics are typically either literature-based {revolving around a book you're reading} or unit-study based {a broader topic of study}.

Tatiana's current lapbook

Why lapbook? We haven't done too many yet, but the value is that it makes your subject come alive in a way that say, a book report or worksheet, really doesn't. It's a great way to review material you've learned/read and solidify the important facts. For the littles, it can also improve various motor skills, such as cutting, coloring, and pasting. Besides that, it's fun! Lapbooks also create a sort of "living record" of the things my kids have learned. They can look back through them, re-read things they've written, do the activities in them, etc. I think this would also be beneficial if your children actually attend school, as an alternative to a "report", supplemental summertime or at-home learning to enhance what they're reading, or as a creative alternative for a presentation/project on a given subject.

What ages can lapbook? All ages! Tatiana {7 1/2} is just finishing her second lapbook now and Sienna {4} is working on her first one! Starting from the time your child can color, cut & glue, they can lapbook!

Here's the inside. It has a Oregon Trail mapping activity, T/F questions, and wordsearch.

What supplies do I need? Besides your topic, you'll need manila folders {either repurposed from the household or purchased}, adhesive {so far I've just used glue sticks}, and an assortment of activities, pockets, mini-books to add to your lapbook, many of which can be found online for free {see here}.

Pockets for a vocab memory game & other mini-books

Where do I start? A google of "free lapbooks" will get you going! There is an excellent thorough guide to many aspects of lapbooking found here, including pictures of sample lapbooks, instructions for various mini-books, how to plan lapbook units, and more. My all-time favorite resource so far though is Homeschool Share. I am actually going to use their preschool/kindergarten lapbooks {based on good children's books} as curriculum for my 4 year old for next fall. If you are looking for a great learning activity for your preK-er based on books, these are wonderful because the units & activities are already organized, so all that's required for mom or dad is obtaining the book {library!} & printing the lapbook pieces.

Any other questions, feel free to ask!

School Bits

I've been trying to refocus my attention in many areas of life, one of them being homeschooling! God has given me a renewed passion and interest for this very important job, so I thought I take some time to share some of the tidbits that I like about it, what we use, how we make it fun, and so on. Hopefully, you'll find something of use, interesting or just plain informative about what homeschooling is all about.

My first bit is:

Open and Go!

Before I started homeschooling, the aspect of PLANNING seemed extremely daunting to me. I imagined having to sit among stacks of textbooks, 1" thick planner and pencil in hand, stressfully trying to figure out how much of each subject to cover every week. My image couldn't have been more wrong & am truly blessed to have discovered the nature of "open and go", which describes our current curricula, by Hearts of Dakota. You simply open the teacher's manual where each subject is laid out for you in detail and begin your school day! Very little preparation for me! The manual tells you which pages in which books to read, the main idea of what you've read to review with your child, and gives you detailed instructions for simple activities when applicable. The first year we homeschooled {kindergarten}, I pieced together our curriculum based on the literature program Five-in-a-Row and therefore did much of the planning including which subjects to do, in which order, how many pages/lessons to complete for the different subjects, etc. I initially thought a open and go curricula would stunt my creative side, but it actually reduces the stressload of planning, allowing me to enjoy and focus more on the teaching and very little on the planning.

Open and go is perfect for the non-planner, busy mom, and new homeschooler alike!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask about our homeschooling methods or adventures!

School can be....

...yummy?

Probably not the adjective you'd most likely pick when describing school, right? Unless you're a homeschooler & get to use food for science class and as counters for math. Last week while studying clouds, we actually made 4 different types of clouds out of whipped cream as a visual display.

The best part?

Well....you know.

Waiting....

I ate another frog today by finally deciding on & ordering our homeschool curriculum for the fall. I was agonizing over this decision & was going back & forth between two options. I scoured homeschool forums & read as much as I could. Things were so much easier {and cheaper} when my student was younger & I could just print off some free internet worksheets or buy a workbook from Wal-Mart or just get her cutting and pasting things. First I felt God leading me to a specific program, then I thought He was leading me to the other one. I finally came to the conclusion that He really wasn't leading me anywhere particular and as long as I keep Him as the focus in all we do, it really won't matter who my curriculum publisher is. So, we are staying with Heart of Dakota, by moving on to Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. The three things I like best about these programs are:

• the Christian focus is well-integrated into all aspects of the program. Not just a tacked-on Bible study in some "Christian" programs.

• the Teacher's Guide is just "open & go". There is a formatted lesson plan for each day. Being a creative-type, I didn't think I would like this, but I love it! Less planning!

• Use of living books. I just think learning from a textbook is not as exciting as learning from good literature. I think books makes things come alive, from an educational standpoint, that textbooks just can't duplicate.
  

I am *so* excited and can't wait to start receiving all the materials, so I can move into the planning phase. I spent hours trying to find the best prices & make the best use of the resources I have. I truly wish we lived near an amazing library system or at least had access to a library at all. But such is life. I will just have to slowly and frugally work towards building our own home library. So now we are waiting for "box day", as homeschoolers call it. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

FUNschooling

Quite a few people have asked me whether or not we are homeschooling during our time of transition with baby #3. The answer is no, and yes. ;>) I thought I'd share what we've been doing because I find it both fun & educational & if your kids go to public school, it might be a great way to keep their brains active during summer break. Instead of using our regular curriculum, I use a different "resource" for each of the subjects I want to cover:

Bible ~ One story out of The Bible for Mothers & Daughters. This is such a cute book! The kids love the colorful illustrations. The stories are short enough to hold their attention & their is a concept to glean from each one about Becoming a Woman of God. There is a time for the Parent to share at the end about their own personal experiences. They have these for Father & Daughters and for the Sons as well.

Phonics ~ I have a phonics set for the LeapPad. If someone I know wants to borrow it for their child for the summer, let me know. It has 12 books and goes through all the consonants, vowels, blends, etc. We do a couple of pages a day.

Reading ~ For comprehension, we are using Brainquest Reading for First Grade. I could go on and on about how much we *love* Brainquest, but I'll spare ya'll. On some cards are stories/poems, followed by comprehension questions based on the story. Other cards have reading based questions like things about punctuation, opposites, syllables, antonyms, fixing the sentence, and such. Great way to introduce new concepts too!

We are also reading a few pages a day from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I love doing funny voices for all the characters ;>)

Craft/Activity Time ~ I'm bustin' out all the stuff that I have stored or laying around. She gets to choose from coloring, water painting, sewing {great felt puppet kits for beginners with pre-punched holes & plastic needles}, blocks, puzzles, tangrams, play-do, etc. I allot about 15-30 minutes. I can do other things during this time if need be.

Science ~ My mom got her the book, The Everything Science Book for Kids, which I am going to do about 1-2 activities per week from. Seems really neat! It covers different areas of science, chemistry, physics, etc, and requires items that are either already around the house or easily procured.

Math ~ This is the one holdover from our normal curriculum. We do about 2 pages per day in our text/workbook.

I think the reason this works so well is because it involves different learning methods of stimulation, from workbooks, to hands-on, to auditory activities. I am trying not to sweat whether or not she is learning by leaps and bounds. As long as the brain is kept active, I am living by the motto, "Do your best and let God take care of the rest." Good motto for life in general, I believe.

She's also learning plenty about baby-care and all that's involved, but that's another post.....

Curriculum Brag

I really just wanted to take a chance and {shamelessly} brag on our homeschool curriculum, Little Hearts for His Glory. It is so wonderful! The description on the cover explains exactly all the reasons why I love it: Christ-centered, Flexible, Quick Activities, Easy to Use, Fun Ideas, and Complete Plans. I really, really enjoy all the neat, easy activities that are included.

For our History segment {which is really Biblical & God's hand throughout history}, I read from actual Scriptures that they have pieced together to make-up a complete story. Let's face it, even for an adult sometimes reading Biblical accounts can be lengthy, so it is so wise how they put together which Scriptures to read to give your child an understanding of what happened. This week, after reading about David, one of the activities included taping a drawing of Goliath's face on the wall {about 9 feet up, since that's how tall he was} and having your child pretend to be David. Tatiana took 5 rolled up socks {a.k.a. "smooth stones"} and attempted to hit Goliath in the forehead. It was so fun. We also discussed man looking at the outside and God looking at the heart. She had to look in a mirror and answer questions about her appearance, then draw a self-portrait. On a separate piece of paper, she described some of the qualities on herself on the inside. Then we taped the two together. There have been so many more neat activities that serve to reinforce the daily lesson.

Tatiana & Sienna both enjoy the weekly Rhyme/Song as well. All the songs fit with whatever is being learned & include gross motor skills to help improve body coordination. All the choices of activities and additional books are so...integrated. There's no better word to describe it. Instead of all the subjects being disjointed, they try and have everything pointing toward a central theme. Even our reading time is designed for character building. We aren't just reading some random chapter book. Everything has such distinct purpose, which I suppose is why we can learn so much in only 1-1 1/2 hours!

*I* so appreciate the weekly Scripture memorization as it helps me to "hide it in my heart" as well. I admit that in the past I have been guilty of just letting church do the Scriptural instruction and now with the help of this curriculum, I finally feel like I am fulfilling my God-given responsibility of training my child in His ways & His Word. Periodically we read from Devotions for the Children's Hour, which I highly recommend for anyone wanting to start doing devotions with their child/family. The chapters are short, only about 2 pages long and cover topics like Who is God?, Who is Satan?, The Most Important Thing a Child Can Do, Why It Helps Us to Be Punished, and many more. At the end of each chapter, there are a few questions for review as well as a simple prayer to use with your child/family. If you know me IRL and would like to look this {or any other book I mention} over, please just ask!

During this season of my life, I am really thankful too that everything is all planned out for me. I really don't have to do any pre-planning. I just open the curriculum guide & off we go! It really would be a great choice for someone who is a new homeschooler or wants to give it try, but thinks there is too much work involved. The same company also produces a Pre-K curriculum, designed for 2-5 year olds, which can be found here, that might be considered even if you don't plan on homeschooling in the future. It would give you & your child extra quality time together, learning & building a Christian foundation. I can't wait to start using this with Sienna!

I really am having so much fun & I know Tatiana is too. I am grateful to the Lord for guiding me in this decision and don't think I could've made a better one! If you have any questions about this curriculum or are considering using it, please let me know or feel free to send me a private email. Thanks for listening to my excitement & appreciation of our curriculum ;>)