Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
LCC -List of Attainments
I posted a question on Latin Classical Ed yahoo groups regarding a list of attainments for LCC similar to CM's list. Mr. Andrew Campbell , author of LCC, posted the following reply.
"........ there are some skills that students need to have by the end of 8th grade in order to get the most out of the high school curriculum as written.
* Mastery of Latin grammar, a varied Latin vocabulary (1500 wordsmin.), and the ability to read Latin fluently (i.e., without translating)
* Mastery of the fundamentals of Greek grammar, but to a lesser extent than Latin
* Mastery of math facts and concepts through pre-algebra, including the basics of geometry (shapes, area, perimeter, etc.)
* Mastery of English grammar via Latin and/or through composition
* Mastery of basic composition, including the paragraph and the three-paragraph essay
* Familiarity with the foundational stories of our culture,particularly the Bible, Greek and Roman myth (including the stories ofthe Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid in retelling), fables, fairy tales,legends, and Shakespeare (in retelling), plus a generous selection of poetry
* Familiarity with the broad outline of world history, with an emphasis on Greek and Roman history
* Familiarity with world geography (including land forms, waterways,nations and capitals, plus states and/or provinces of one's owncountry and its near neighbors)
* Familiarity with the natural world by observation and, by the end of 8th grade, the general divisions of the natural sciences, the types ofquestions each science seeks to answer, and the most important principles of each branch
* Some work in formal logic (although some may want to defer this to high school)
It is also good for students to be familiar with well-known artists and composers and to be able to sing or play an instrument and draw ana ccurate representation of a natural object (including persons). I don't schedule the arts formally, since families have very different priorities and opportunities there, but I do think they are important for a well-rounded education.
Hope that helps!-Drew"
"........ there are some skills that students need to have by the end of 8th grade in order to get the most out of the high school curriculum as written.
* Mastery of Latin grammar, a varied Latin vocabulary (1500 wordsmin.), and the ability to read Latin fluently (i.e., without translating)
* Mastery of the fundamentals of Greek grammar, but to a lesser extent than Latin
* Mastery of math facts and concepts through pre-algebra, including the basics of geometry (shapes, area, perimeter, etc.)
* Mastery of English grammar via Latin and/or through composition
* Mastery of basic composition, including the paragraph and the three-paragraph essay
* Familiarity with the foundational stories of our culture,particularly the Bible, Greek and Roman myth (including the stories ofthe Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid in retelling), fables, fairy tales,legends, and Shakespeare (in retelling), plus a generous selection of poetry
* Familiarity with the broad outline of world history, with an emphasis on Greek and Roman history
* Familiarity with world geography (including land forms, waterways,nations and capitals, plus states and/or provinces of one's owncountry and its near neighbors)
* Familiarity with the natural world by observation and, by the end of 8th grade, the general divisions of the natural sciences, the types ofquestions each science seeks to answer, and the most important principles of each branch
* Some work in formal logic (although some may want to defer this to high school)
It is also good for students to be familiar with well-known artists and composers and to be able to sing or play an instrument and draw ana ccurate representation of a natural object (including persons). I don't schedule the arts formally, since families have very different priorities and opportunities there, but I do think they are important for a well-rounded education.
Hope that helps!-Drew"
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Multum non Multa or Where do we go from here....
I started off this blog with a list of goals to work towards with Sam. We have met many of them and should have no trouble meeting the remainder by his 7th birthday.
"A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six", a reprint of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's.
1. To recite, beautifully, 6 easy poems and hymns
He has memorized 2 poems.
2. to recite, perfectly and beautifully, a parable and a psalm
We haven't done this yet but he memorizes quite easily so this shouldn't be a problem to complete in the next 6 months.
3. to add and subtract numbers up to 10, with dominoes or counters
Already done with MUS Alpha. Will continue to work through MUS.
4. to read--what and how much, will depend on what we are told of the child
Nice vague goal, huh? I've rambled enough about his reading in our Fall Quarter update.
5. to copy in print-hand from a book
Sam's handwriting is getting better and better each week.
6. to know the points of the compass with relation to their own home, where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows
7. to describe the boundaries of their own home
8. to describe any lake, river, pond, island etc. within easy reach
Easily met.
9. to tell quite accurately (however shortly) 3 stories from Bible history, 3 from early English, and 3 from early Roman history (my note here, we may want to substitute early American for early English!)
He recalls many of our stories from our Readings. Easily met.
10. to be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
We were working towards meeting all these goals without difficulty until getting side tracked this fall. We should have no trouble meeting these goals.
14. to send in certain Kindergarten or other handiwork, as directed
15. to tell three stories about their own "pets"--rabbit, dog or cat.
Easily met.
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
I keep putting off Spanish.
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song
18. to keep a caterpillar and tell the life-story of a butterfly from his own observations.
All easily met except the Spanish song.
So with the exception of Spanish that we just haven't started we will meet all these goals this year.
So the question is where to go from here? I started down this path of a CM education because of my observations of my older kids as they self-educate. This past year I have re-read the CM series, reviewed her PNEU curriculum and participated in many dialogues with CM educators and I have come to a few conclusions.
- I do not have the ability or desire to recreate a carbon-copy of a PNEU curriculum down to the precise page count and brushwork! Counting pages per quarter would drive me crazy.
- I work better with curriculum that has some of the work done for me.....so although there are many a homeschooling mama who likes to choose their own copywork , etc. I am not one of them.
-It is more important to work with my children's abilities/nuances than to work with a specific curriculum recommendations. Sam preferred SOTW and retains far more of the readings then if we followed the AO Year 1 recommendations.
Sam's current age 6 curriculum has 3 ....yes 3!....Susan Wise Bauer texts and I would never classify myself a classical educator according to her definition of the word. Her LA texts help me to fulfill my CM Language Art framework for this age and Sam's just likes SOTW. I have reread The Well Trained Mind and walked away with the same feeling I had the first time I read it. Bah! TOO MUCH STUFF! Will NEVER work for me and my kids! I have continue reading classical education texts specifically the Latin-Centered Curriculum and now have a more balanced sense of what is a classical education.
Another thing I relearned...... Nothing..... and I mean nothing...... gets a bunch of CM-purists riled up quite like comparing CM to Classical Education. Obviously TWTM and CM have virtually nothing in common even though SWB texts do mesh quite easily. BUT compare LLC and CM on an academic level and the similarities are there.
So back to the original question....where to go from here. What I will not do ......textbooks, unit-studies, lapbooks, TWTM, or unschool. So does that make me a CMer, Classical, Literature-based, LCCer, or the plain ol' nondescript eclectic? Does it matter? Probably not. But my new maxim is
Multum non Multa
not many things, but much.
I have been reviewing CM List to attain by age 12 and LCC trying to get a feel for the direction we will head. LCC does not have such a list but Handicrafts, Tonic Sol-fa, brushwork would not be on that list....and it most certainly would not be on that list before Math, Latin or Plutarch!
CM has a list of attainment for children to accomplish in the years 6-12.
What a Child Should Know at Twelve, from the appendix at the back of School Education, Volume 3 of her series.
The six years' work--from six to twelve--which I suggest, should and does result in the power of the pupils--
(a) To grasp the sense of a passage of some length at a single reading: and to narrate the substance of what they have read or heard.
(b) To spell, and express themselves in writing with ease and fair correctness.
(c) To give an orderly and detailed account of any subject they have studied.
(d) To describe in writing what they have seen, or heard from the newspapers.
(e) They should have a familiar acquaintance with the common objects of the country, with power to reproduce some of these in brushwork.
(f) Should have skill in various handicrafts, as cardboard Sloyd, basket-making, clay-modelling, etc.
(g) In Arithmetic, they should have some knowledge of vulgar and decimal fractions, percentage, household accounts, etc.
(h) Should have a knowledge of Elementary Algebra, and should have done practical exercises in Geometry.
(i) Of Elementary Latin Grammar; should read fables and easy tales, and, say, one or two books of 'Caesar.'
(j) They should have some power of understanding spoken French, and be able to speak a little; and to read an easy French book without a dictionary.
(k) In German, much the same as in French, but less progress.
(l) In History, they will have gone through a rather detailed study of English, French, and Classical (Plutarch) History.
(m) In Geography they will have studied in detail the map of the world, and have been at one time able to fill in the landscape, industries, etc., from their studies, of each division of the map.(n) They will have learned the elements of Physical Geography, Botany, Human Physiology, and Natural History, and will have read interesting books on some of these subjects.
(o) They should have some knowledge of English Grammar.
(p) They should have a considerable knowledge of Scripture History and the Bible text.
(q) They should have learned a good deal of Scripture and of Poetry, and should have read some Literature.
(r) They should have learned to sing on the Tonic Sol-fa method, and should know a number of English, French, and German Songs.
(s) They should have learned Swedish Drill and various drills and calisthenic exercises.
(t) In Drawing they should be able to represent common objects of the house and field with brush or charcoal; should be able to give rudimentary expression to ideas; and should be acquainted with the works of some artists through reproductions.
(u) In Music their knowledge of theory and their ear-training should keep pace with their powers of execution
"A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six", a reprint of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's.
1. To recite, beautifully, 6 easy poems and hymns
He has memorized 2 poems.
2. to recite, perfectly and beautifully, a parable and a psalm
We haven't done this yet but he memorizes quite easily so this shouldn't be a problem to complete in the next 6 months.
3. to add and subtract numbers up to 10, with dominoes or counters
Already done with MUS Alpha. Will continue to work through MUS.
4. to read--what and how much, will depend on what we are told of the child
Nice vague goal, huh? I've rambled enough about his reading in our Fall Quarter update.
5. to copy in print-hand from a book
Sam's handwriting is getting better and better each week.
6. to know the points of the compass with relation to their own home, where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows
7. to describe the boundaries of their own home
8. to describe any lake, river, pond, island etc. within easy reach
Easily met.
9. to tell quite accurately (however shortly) 3 stories from Bible history, 3 from early English, and 3 from early Roman history (my note here, we may want to substitute early American for early English!)
He recalls many of our stories from our Readings. Easily met.
10. to be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
We were working towards meeting all these goals without difficulty until getting side tracked this fall. We should have no trouble meeting these goals.
14. to send in certain Kindergarten or other handiwork, as directed
15. to tell three stories about their own "pets"--rabbit, dog or cat.
Easily met.
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
I keep putting off Spanish.
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song
18. to keep a caterpillar and tell the life-story of a butterfly from his own observations.
All easily met except the Spanish song.
So with the exception of Spanish that we just haven't started we will meet all these goals this year.
So the question is where to go from here? I started down this path of a CM education because of my observations of my older kids as they self-educate. This past year I have re-read the CM series, reviewed her PNEU curriculum and participated in many dialogues with CM educators and I have come to a few conclusions.
- I do not have the ability or desire to recreate a carbon-copy of a PNEU curriculum down to the precise page count and brushwork! Counting pages per quarter would drive me crazy.
- I work better with curriculum that has some of the work done for me.....so although there are many a homeschooling mama who likes to choose their own copywork , etc. I am not one of them.
-It is more important to work with my children's abilities/nuances than to work with a specific curriculum recommendations. Sam preferred SOTW and retains far more of the readings then if we followed the AO Year 1 recommendations.
Sam's current age 6 curriculum has 3 ....yes 3!....Susan Wise Bauer texts and I would never classify myself a classical educator according to her definition of the word. Her LA texts help me to fulfill my CM Language Art framework for this age and Sam's just likes SOTW. I have reread The Well Trained Mind and walked away with the same feeling I had the first time I read it. Bah! TOO MUCH STUFF! Will NEVER work for me and my kids! I have continue reading classical education texts specifically the Latin-Centered Curriculum and now have a more balanced sense of what is a classical education.
Another thing I relearned...... Nothing..... and I mean nothing...... gets a bunch of CM-purists riled up quite like comparing CM to Classical Education. Obviously TWTM and CM have virtually nothing in common even though SWB texts do mesh quite easily. BUT compare LLC and CM on an academic level and the similarities are there.
So back to the original question....where to go from here. What I will not do ......textbooks, unit-studies, lapbooks, TWTM, or unschool. So does that make me a CMer, Classical, Literature-based, LCCer, or the plain ol' nondescript eclectic? Does it matter? Probably not. But my new maxim is
Multum non Multa
not many things, but much.
I have been reviewing CM List to attain by age 12 and LCC trying to get a feel for the direction we will head. LCC does not have such a list but Handicrafts, Tonic Sol-fa, brushwork would not be on that list....and it most certainly would not be on that list before Math, Latin or Plutarch!
CM has a list of attainment for children to accomplish in the years 6-12.
What a Child Should Know at Twelve, from the appendix at the back of School Education, Volume 3 of her series.
The six years' work--from six to twelve--which I suggest, should and does result in the power of the pupils--
(a) To grasp the sense of a passage of some length at a single reading: and to narrate the substance of what they have read or heard.
(b) To spell, and express themselves in writing with ease and fair correctness.
(c) To give an orderly and detailed account of any subject they have studied.
(d) To describe in writing what they have seen, or heard from the newspapers.
(e) They should have a familiar acquaintance with the common objects of the country, with power to reproduce some of these in brushwork.
(f) Should have skill in various handicrafts, as cardboard Sloyd, basket-making, clay-modelling, etc.
(g) In Arithmetic, they should have some knowledge of vulgar and decimal fractions, percentage, household accounts, etc.
(h) Should have a knowledge of Elementary Algebra, and should have done practical exercises in Geometry.
(i) Of Elementary Latin Grammar; should read fables and easy tales, and, say, one or two books of 'Caesar.'
(j) They should have some power of understanding spoken French, and be able to speak a little; and to read an easy French book without a dictionary.
(k) In German, much the same as in French, but less progress.
(l) In History, they will have gone through a rather detailed study of English, French, and Classical (Plutarch) History.
(m) In Geography they will have studied in detail the map of the world, and have been at one time able to fill in the landscape, industries, etc., from their studies, of each division of the map.(n) They will have learned the elements of Physical Geography, Botany, Human Physiology, and Natural History, and will have read interesting books on some of these subjects.
(o) They should have some knowledge of English Grammar.
(p) They should have a considerable knowledge of Scripture History and the Bible text.
(q) They should have learned a good deal of Scripture and of Poetry, and should have read some Literature.
(r) They should have learned to sing on the Tonic Sol-fa method, and should know a number of English, French, and German Songs.
(s) They should have learned Swedish Drill and various drills and calisthenic exercises.
(t) In Drawing they should be able to represent common objects of the house and field with brush or charcoal; should be able to give rudimentary expression to ideas; and should be acquainted with the works of some artists through reproductions.
(u) In Music their knowledge of theory and their ear-training should keep pace with their powers of execution
Fall Quarter Update 2008
It has been an interesting quarter to say the least!
Reading- Sam has been enjoying ETC online and moving through books faster than I expected. I thought we had a perfect fit until I noticed that he uses a lot of visual clues and has developed a few tricks of the trade to help him get the correct answer when matching sentences to a picture. Sneaky boy! SO.....we are going to drop all reading that has any visual clues....Ha! Sneaky mama. He is spelling better than he is reading! HOW did this happen?? It was only in July that I was complaining that his reading ability is far greater than he spelling ability. So apparently I'm just never happy. I did speak informally with the reading specialist that is associated with his Speech therapy office about this and she gave me some recommendations. SO....we are dropping AAS spelling for now....he isn't having a problem spelling first grade words and there is enough spelling with the reading lessons..... and going to concentrate on reading fluency and speed. She recommended a reading program that I have never heard of before called ABeCeDarian. I did a little research and apparently it is all the rage in the gifted kids circles. Although he can spell most if not all of the words in level A and read them at a snails pace we are going to start with the Short A level and work on fluency and speed. We still get to use the letter tiles we love so all is not lost!
Language Arts- We are on First Language Lesson , lesson26, and Writing with Easy workbook 1, week 7. These have been good additions and easy for both of us. FLL is easy to use with lots of repetitions but not at all time consuming. WWE helps me to organize his copywork and his narrations....both of which are coming along nicely! He has memorized 2 poems. The Caterpillar by Christina G. Rosseti and Work by Anonymous.
Math- MUS continues to be a great fit. Currently on lesson 19. Math is an easy subject for Sam.
Foreign Language- ahhhh.....still haven't added this......
History/Geography/Natural History/Literature/Poetry- These are all going quite well now that we fine tuned our selections and pacing. Less is more! OR in Latin-Centered Curriculum circles.....Multum non Multa.
Plans for the Winter Quarter....
-Reading- build fluency and speed
-Music appreciation/Art/Nature Study- I'm not sure how all of these fell off our daily schedule...ike....but they need to get back into the weekly routine.
Other news.
Charlotte.....has met almost all the goals we set forth for her preschool years. She has been enjoying the stories from AO Year 0 and Before Five in a Row and we will continue to look to these sources for read alouds for her. It might just be time to start thinking about an informal "letter of the week" program for her. Ideally I'd like to wait until age 4 to start this so she'll be ready to start learning to read at age 5 but we might just be stepping that timetable up a notch.
Last but not least......
Sam received his Bobcat Badge the same day Big Brother got his Eagle!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Reading lessons update
We have finally got in a good pattern with our reading lessons. 100 Easy lessons was working marginally well. Developing a CM reading plan using Treadwell's readers was working marginally well. The perfect fit has been developing a CM reading plan using the readers from LLATL blue. If I did not have these available I would have purchased Pathway readers for first grade.
Sam benefits from the controlled vocabulary of these readers. There are fewer words to learn in order for him to read each new book and we have been working a steady pace of a book per week.
Each week we...
-Introduce the book and read it together.
-play games with the word cards
- sound out new words and introduce any new sight words.
-Create sentences with our word cards
-create new words using word families
-write a word from dictation
Each day...
- we read the book together having him read more and more with each reading.
-we play games with the word cards
- and we do one of the other exercises
spending a total of about 15 minutes per day with a reading lesson
His reading lessons have been reinforced with AAS spelling book 1 which we do daily and using ETC online.
We now have a perfect fit.
Sam benefits from the controlled vocabulary of these readers. There are fewer words to learn in order for him to read each new book and we have been working a steady pace of a book per week.
Each week we...
-Introduce the book and read it together.
-play games with the word cards
- sound out new words and introduce any new sight words.
-Create sentences with our word cards
-create new words using word families
-write a word from dictation
Each day...
- we read the book together having him read more and more with each reading.
-we play games with the word cards
- and we do one of the other exercises
spending a total of about 15 minutes per day with a reading lesson
His reading lessons have been reinforced with AAS spelling book 1 which we do daily and using ETC online.
We now have a perfect fit.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Updated Year 1 Booklist
We started with a Year 1 list but have fine tuned it for a much better fit.
Language Arts
Handwriting without Tears -Printing practice
Our CM Reading Program
All About Spelling Book 1
First Language Lessons
Writing with Ease workbook 1
Explode the Code Online as wanted.
How I'm putting this all together....
-Oral narrations from various subjects.
-Daily reading instruction
-Daily copywork from HWT/ Writing with Ease 1
-Memory work from First Language Lessons.
Why I changed......
Sam wasn't challenged enough with the original plan.
Mathematics -Math-U-See Alpha
Foreign Language -Phrase-A-Day Spanish
Bible- Every Day with God
Poetry
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Now We Are Six/When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
History
Story of the World Book 1 done at home.
Why I changed....
Co-op wasn't working out as well as I hoped. Sam gets so much more out of the reading when done at home and friends aren't competing for his attention. I restarted the series from the beginning because he is wanting to learn about Egyptians.
Fifty Famous Stories was so truncated that it was impossible for us to get a decent narration from this source.
American History Biography
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
George Washington by Ingri D'Aulaire
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire
Pocahontas by Ingri D'Aulaire
Geography
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Geography from A to Z by Jack Knowlton
Natural History/Science
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Seashore Book for Children By Thornton Burgess
Christian Liberty Nature Reader book 1.
A Reason for Science A
The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Among the .....People by by Clara Dillingham Pierson
We dropped Tales from Shakespeare until a future year.
Bedtime Reading
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Fairy Books by Andrew Lang
Also Weekly
Art- Artistic Pursuits Book 1
Music appreciation-one composer per quarter
Handicrafts - to be determined by interest
Nature Study- follow Outdoor Hour challenges.
Language Arts
Handwriting without Tears -Printing practice
Our CM Reading Program
All About Spelling Book 1
First Language Lessons
Writing with Ease workbook 1
Explode the Code Online as wanted.
How I'm putting this all together....
-Oral narrations from various subjects.
-Daily reading instruction
-Daily copywork from HWT/ Writing with Ease 1
-Memory work from First Language Lessons.
Why I changed......
Sam wasn't challenged enough with the original plan.
Mathematics -Math-U-See Alpha
Foreign Language -Phrase-A-Day Spanish
Bible- Every Day with God
Poetry
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Now We Are Six/When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
History
Story of the World Book 1 done at home.
Why I changed....
Co-op wasn't working out as well as I hoped. Sam gets so much more out of the reading when done at home and friends aren't competing for his attention. I restarted the series from the beginning because he is wanting to learn about Egyptians.
Fifty Famous Stories was so truncated that it was impossible for us to get a decent narration from this source.
American History Biography
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
George Washington by Ingri D'Aulaire
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire
Pocahontas by Ingri D'Aulaire
Geography
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Geography from A to Z by Jack Knowlton
Natural History/Science
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Seashore Book for Children By Thornton Burgess
Christian Liberty Nature Reader book 1.
A Reason for Science A
We added Nature reader because he found it in our book closet and loves it. He gives great narrations from this book. We added A Reason for Science for the experiments which have been fun. It is a nice resource because everything is supplied.
LiteratureThe Aesop for Children by Milo Winter
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Among the .....People by by Clara Dillingham Pierson
We dropped Tales from Shakespeare until a future year.
Bedtime Reading
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Fairy Books by Andrew Lang
Also Weekly
Art- Artistic Pursuits Book 1
Music appreciation-one composer per quarter
Handicrafts - to be determined by interest
Nature Study- follow Outdoor Hour challenges.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
What is really important.....
We are still living a post-Ike life. Things are not completely back to normal yet....too many folks recovering their homes and lives. I am still not back to work and not sure when I'll be heading back. Our department will be the first to restart operations.....women keep having babies....but I'm not sure when I will return. This is the longest break from work that I've had since the births of my children. I miss working with those babies and I miss my co-workers! Looking forward to getting back into a normal routine and balance for my life....
This "hurrication" has given me the time to evaluate this year with Sam and to figure out what is really important for us to do this year. I had originally planned to start AO year 1 in January with Sam giving him some time to mature. I instead just jumped in after his birthday in June....some of the AO reading are really not working for us and some of our non-AO reading are working really well.
One of my major goals for Sam this year is for him to gain confidence with oral narrations. The books that are helping toward that goal and will remain in the daily rotations are...
-Paddle to the Sea
-Just So Stories by Kipling
- Christian Liberty Science Reader book 1.
-Story of the World when read at home
Books that are stretching him in his narration ability and will remain on our weekly rotation are...
-James Herriot Treasury for Children
-Among the Meadow People by Pierson
-D'Aulaire books
-Burgess Bird Book
Books that are causing frustrations for either of us and will be dropped from our schedule are....
-Fifty Famous Stories Retold
- Tales from Shakespeare
-Story of the World with the co-op.
I will probably not add Fifty Famous Stories back into our reading rotations but instead keep it for a reader when he gets older. Tales from Shakespeare will probably be added back next year.
Our history Co-op deserves special attention. He loves the interactions with other children but finds a hour long class to be tedious. He would prefer to have the time to play with friends and I think that is important so instead of a class we will seek out park days with friends.
Another goal is to keep a workable schedule for our day. To say that this has been a challenge for the last few month is a understatement! But here is our current schedule....
Starting at 9am... we work through
Math-U-See
Poetry reading
Speech work
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1
Copybook or HWT
History 2xper week/ Geography 1x per week/ Bible 1x per week
( if we take a break we do it now)
Reading*
Literature readings
Spelling with AAS book 1
Artistic Pursuit Book 1 2x per week/ Reason for Science 2x per week.
ETC online as wanted #
* reading instruction has been fine tuned. We have completely dropped 100 Easy lessons. We are now doing CM style reading lessons using the booklets that came with LLATL blue. This is working better for Sam then using just Treadwell's readers.
# Homeschoolers Buyers Co-op had a deal for Explode the Code online and we are trying it out. This is just for fun and not a daily requirement. He usually does 6-9 lessons 3-5 x per week and has almost completed the equivalent to the first book in just a few weeks. He is enjoying it and it is a good easy review.
The best part of our schedule is DAILY OUTSIDE TIME!!!! We can now spend several hours a day outside again. The temperature is a comfortable mid-80s and the mosquitos are semi- undercontrolled. We've missed our outside time!
This "hurrication" has given me the time to evaluate this year with Sam and to figure out what is really important for us to do this year. I had originally planned to start AO year 1 in January with Sam giving him some time to mature. I instead just jumped in after his birthday in June....some of the AO reading are really not working for us and some of our non-AO reading are working really well.
One of my major goals for Sam this year is for him to gain confidence with oral narrations. The books that are helping toward that goal and will remain in the daily rotations are...
-Paddle to the Sea
-Just So Stories by Kipling
- Christian Liberty Science Reader book 1.
-Story of the World when read at home
Books that are stretching him in his narration ability and will remain on our weekly rotation are...
-James Herriot Treasury for Children
-Among the Meadow People by Pierson
-D'Aulaire books
-Burgess Bird Book
Books that are causing frustrations for either of us and will be dropped from our schedule are....
-Fifty Famous Stories Retold
- Tales from Shakespeare
-Story of the World with the co-op.
I will probably not add Fifty Famous Stories back into our reading rotations but instead keep it for a reader when he gets older. Tales from Shakespeare will probably be added back next year.
Our history Co-op deserves special attention. He loves the interactions with other children but finds a hour long class to be tedious. He would prefer to have the time to play with friends and I think that is important so instead of a class we will seek out park days with friends.
Another goal is to keep a workable schedule for our day. To say that this has been a challenge for the last few month is a understatement! But here is our current schedule....
Starting at 9am... we work through
Math-U-See
Poetry reading
Speech work
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1
Copybook or HWT
History 2xper week/ Geography 1x per week/ Bible 1x per week
( if we take a break we do it now)
Reading*
Literature readings
Spelling with AAS book 1
Artistic Pursuit Book 1 2x per week/ Reason for Science 2x per week.
ETC online as wanted #
* reading instruction has been fine tuned. We have completely dropped 100 Easy lessons. We are now doing CM style reading lessons using the booklets that came with LLATL blue. This is working better for Sam then using just Treadwell's readers.
# Homeschoolers Buyers Co-op had a deal for Explode the Code online and we are trying it out. This is just for fun and not a daily requirement. He usually does 6-9 lessons 3-5 x per week and has almost completed the equivalent to the first book in just a few weeks. He is enjoying it and it is a good easy review.
The best part of our schedule is DAILY OUTSIDE TIME!!!! We can now spend several hours a day outside again. The temperature is a comfortable mid-80s and the mosquitos are semi- undercontrolled. We've missed our outside time!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Post- Ike Life...
...is slowly returning to normal.
Just a few miles from our home... The levy kept the debris on 1-45 and not in our backyard!
Before the storm......
The final decision was made to stay. We couldn't get east due to Gustav....nowhere West until we hit El Paso...ugh. Road North is blocked and detoured to Lufkin.....a shelter in Lufkin or home ....so we stay home. There are no hotel rooms available.....
So the morning before Ike comes to visit we head outside for some playtime. It was cool with a light breeze ....we watched the clouds spin counter clockwise above us.....
I bake and he mows.....an acre with a push mower! Everyone took a turn including the little kids!
John took Sam out when the tropical force winds started up.... Sam LOVED it! I think that was the reason he was able to sleep during the whole storm .....The sounds didn't scare him since he thought it was just like the winds he experienced in the afternoon..... The kids sleep soundly during the winds. Charlotte woke when the eye it...it was much to quiet for her and did not fall back to sleep until the winds picked backup an hour later...
After Ike....
The playground stands! We really thought we would lose it! This isn't storm surge just rain water.... We were incredibly lucky. We headed out the next day to visit a community a little farther north and the destruction was outstanding. We had NO damage ...just a few lost tree limbs. 
Everyone gets involved with the clean up. I didn't get a picture of our neighborhood after all the limbs are on the curb. You could not see the houses ....just mounds of stuff on the curb.
The levy system that we live behind saved us for the storm surge. Many communities farther inland were not so lucky....Oldtimers were amazed at how high the water line was on the levies....they have never seen it this high....
The dike was stripped bare of buildings and we were unable to drive down it on this day......But it did its job and protected our community!
Just a few miles from our home... The levy kept the debris on 1-45 and not in our backyard!Our life is almost normal as long as we avoid a regular grocery store. Shelfs are semi-bare and folks are a little crazy because of it. I am the only adult in the family who is not able to return to work....Galveston is not open for business yet and the hospital flooded.
The kids missed their Wednesday break from school! Sam hasn't been able to keep the days of the week straight since I've been home all week...Soon things will return to normal....
Friday, September 12, 2008
Snow days
I thought we were off to a great start for the school year....until Ike took a turn. Tuesday I checked the my hospital's weather alert and Ike was no longer a concern. Wednesday at work by noon ....essential personal were being called in by Thursday pm... and by the time I left people were being asked if they felt like making a trip to Austin with the babies.....
I stopped on the way home and topped off my tank. So decisions needed to be made .... stay or go. We couldn't get to plan A due to Gustav and 2 members of the family were going to have to work Thursday so we stay. I did call my folks with a Plan B but it didn't go very far..... I woke at 3 am made a quick inventory of supplies needed( we were dangerously low on green tea and sodas.....we also stocked up on junk food. nothing makes the hours pass like chips and dip) and made a Walmart run. Great timing....shelfs were being restocked. The cashier mention that it just slowed down.....I just knew there was no way I was going to be in a store on Thursday day. Folks are CRAZY the day before a hurricane. Come on folks.....you live on the gulf coast prepare early. Why are you fighting over food and water when you should've had on your shelf 2 months ago.....
OK. I digress......Unloaded the car and it was already hot. Of course it is going to be the hottest day in weeks when we have work to do....so instead of going to sleep I start on the yard. The garage is a jig saw puzzle....how do I put all the yard stuff in it and still have room for a car. While working I think of Plan C and then my folks pull in the driveway... Plan C is shot down. Plan C was a GREAT plan......Little kids, Big Sis' and grandma head out of town.... The rest of us get the houses ready. Grandma refused to go to the location. BAH!
Ok we stay...
Rita we left. Charlotte was a newborn it was a no brainer. I was in a maternity fog and wasn't aware of such mundane things as hurricanes( I kinda missed the Katrina ordeal ) until we recieved the call that we are going to be under a mandatory evacuation order starting 12 noon tomorrow. I don't even think we boarded up the house. We received the call at 7pm and we were on the road by 4am. We also didn't have family members that had responsibilities. We missed all the humanity that was the Rita evacuation.
Yesterday... DH and oldest son headed off to work. I fielded phone calls and did all I could without them. Dh came up and we pulled up boards and started putting them up. It is hot.....steamy.....red in the face hot.
Surreal moment number #1 - We are struggling with a board and about to throw in the towel and wait for the young male in the family to come home to help us when they evacuate the nursing home down the street. A fleet of ambulance and buses file down our street. THEN we see the helicopters that are evacuating the hospital that I work at..... We laugh and get our game faces on.
Surreal moment number #2- Oldest son returns home. He spent the day boarding up 4 buildings for his employer. He has obviously done a man's work today and he is visibly glad that he isn't boarding up the house tonight. He does inspect our job to make sure it is done properly.
Surreal moment number #3- Dinner was a M. Night Shyamalan SIGNS dinner. What do you want that's in the freezer and cannot be cooked on the grill. Guess what.....that's what we are having for breakfast and lunch today as well......
So now 7 am. All day yesterday we received numerous calls....advise to shelter in place....actually I think the term they used might of been hunker down. Only in Texas. I just received a call today with the advise to follow your family plan. Apparently we are getting the direct hit.
Gotta go bake.....I am my mother's daughter. She bakes in the hours before a storm comes a shore.....
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The end of summer...
In the past few weeks, millions of school children across the state have gone back to school. Instead we remodeled our bathroom and took a few weeks off..... I originally thought that we could continue school through the process but I really just didn't realize how loud and dusty it was going to be. This week we will finish up our plans for summer AND I'm remembering why I don't like to take long breaks. 3 weeks is too long....the first day back was frustrating.....the routine was off.....I felt disorganized and Sam was in a foul mood. Today was much better!
I think I found it! All-About-Spelling has answered our needs. Sam likes manipulating letters and I don't like trying to keep track of cards. All About Spelling has these great little tiles ( get the magnets!) and we can keep the letters on our new magnetic board. I just put the whole board away and voila no mess. I use the tiles for Spelling practice ( yes, following AAS book 1- how un-CM of me) and reading practice. Sam loves it! So do I.
These tiles have been an a fabulous addition to our CM-reading lessons. I can write a sentence on the magnetic board and he can use the tiles to practice each word. I erase a word and he fits a new one in. Reading practice has become so much more fun for him and less of a chore for me. I am still alternating between 100 EZ lessons ( currently on lesson 46) and my own lessons. I am finding it much easier to devise my own lesson with the magnetic board/ tiles and no longer feel confined to using just one specific book. I just choose a sentence of interest from a different subject and start teaching from it. I think the constant variation is a plus for Sam and helps keep his interest.
We need to work on narrations. I knew going into this year that this would be the hardest part and would require the most patience from me. Some days he gets it and some days he just doesn't. I have found asking him to act it out works better than just telling it back. He can remember more details with his body then with just his speech. I don't know if this is residue from his speech issue....maybe he is afraid to speak and use the wrong words or have me correct his speech?? Hmmmm something for me to think about. He is far more visual than I originally thought. He gives the best narrations with picture study and with any subject that he can see. If he only hears it he doesn't remember a lot of details. I think tomorrow I'm going to have him close his eyes to remove the visual stimulation and see if he remembers more details. Hmmm something else to think about. Overall his narrations are fair to good depending on what he is narrating.
His vocabulary has exploded! This has been a absolute pleasure for us. He has had such a limited speaking vocabulary it is nice to see him surpass his peers in the area.
Math-u-see continues to work great. We are working our way through lesson 8 this week.
Artistic Pursuits is a new favorite and we will continue it doing a lesson a week.
We'll start Spanish next week....
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Summer schedules.....
....are always a bit of a mess. Routines are chaotic at times....It is our indoor season due to heat and mosquitoes.
We stick indoors in the mornings unless we head to the pool. Our nature study is very, very lax due to Charlotte's lack of ability to tolerate the heat. The pool area that we visit does have wetlands visible and native plants so our nature study is done walking to each attraction. We are looking forward to cold-front day!
I have split our daily school schedule because it is easier to keep Sam engaged and participating with a short break. Charlotte is in the mix at all times so I had to get creative with keeping her engaged and happy while Sam works.
Our daily school schedule looks something like this...
Charlotte and I "work" for about 10-15 min. either coloring books, drawing, reading stories, etc. Each week I try to pick an area to focus on during this time such as colors, shapes, counting, etc.
While she continues, Sam joins us and we work through..
Math
Poetry
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1* with narration
Copybook
Speech work
Bible with narration
30 min break for Sam while I get Charlotte working on something that will keep her busy while Sam finishes up....watercolor painting has been a favorite. This is the time we listen to our composer for this quarter.
Spelling* (a new spelling program)
AO readings with narration
Handwriting without tears
Reading
Artistic Pursuits Book 1*/ A Reason for Science Level A*
* Nature Reader Book 1 was a book Sam added and it is a favorite and will stay.
*We are giving All About Spelling book 1 a trial and I think it might answer my quest for a individualised spelling program that is easy to implement and not overwhelming.
*Artistic Pursuits has been a big hit. Sam absolutely LOVES picture study but I've had a hard time implementing it due to my own laziness in acquiring prints. This is a keeper.
*A Reason for Science was on sale. I like it because it is organized, the supplies are all available and it fits nicely with our nature study. We'll see how this works out this year.
We have not started Spanish.... holding off until our next break in August. Memoria Press Copybook Book 1 does not have writing for everyday so we have been doing handwriting practice with HWT. We were alternating Aesop and Bible readings but Sam disliked Aesop and would request to continue the Bible stories because they were the "best". I couldn't argue with that reasoning so Aesop is currently dropped from our schedule.
I want a 2ftX3ft magnetic whiteboard! I'd like to have it so I can write our verse from Memoria Press and keep our letter tiles on it for spelling and reading practice. I'm just not sure where I would put it though. Ideally upstairs in the room that functioned as the older kids' schoolroom but it is currently the domain of the teens. The younger kids have been doing schoolwork in the dining room but I'm not sure I want it as a permanent feature in that room.I have seen smaller table top versions that I could use for our verse and just find another solution for the letter tiles.It's a dilemma.
We stick indoors in the mornings unless we head to the pool. Our nature study is very, very lax due to Charlotte's lack of ability to tolerate the heat. The pool area that we visit does have wetlands visible and native plants so our nature study is done walking to each attraction. We are looking forward to cold-front day!
I have split our daily school schedule because it is easier to keep Sam engaged and participating with a short break. Charlotte is in the mix at all times so I had to get creative with keeping her engaged and happy while Sam works.
Our daily school schedule looks something like this...
Charlotte and I "work" for about 10-15 min. either coloring books, drawing, reading stories, etc. Each week I try to pick an area to focus on during this time such as colors, shapes, counting, etc.
While she continues, Sam joins us and we work through..
Math
Poetry
Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1* with narration
Copybook
Speech work
Bible with narration
30 min break for Sam while I get Charlotte working on something that will keep her busy while Sam finishes up....watercolor painting has been a favorite. This is the time we listen to our composer for this quarter.
Spelling* (a new spelling program)
AO readings with narration
Handwriting without tears
Reading
Artistic Pursuits Book 1*/ A Reason for Science Level A*
* Nature Reader Book 1 was a book Sam added and it is a favorite and will stay.
*We are giving All About Spelling book 1 a trial and I think it might answer my quest for a individualised spelling program that is easy to implement and not overwhelming.
*Artistic Pursuits has been a big hit. Sam absolutely LOVES picture study but I've had a hard time implementing it due to my own laziness in acquiring prints. This is a keeper.
*A Reason for Science was on sale. I like it because it is organized, the supplies are all available and it fits nicely with our nature study. We'll see how this works out this year.
We have not started Spanish.... holding off until our next break in August. Memoria Press Copybook Book 1 does not have writing for everyday so we have been doing handwriting practice with HWT. We were alternating Aesop and Bible readings but Sam disliked Aesop and would request to continue the Bible stories because they were the "best". I couldn't argue with that reasoning so Aesop is currently dropped from our schedule.
I want a 2ftX3ft magnetic whiteboard! I'd like to have it so I can write our verse from Memoria Press and keep our letter tiles on it for spelling and reading practice. I'm just not sure where I would put it though. Ideally upstairs in the room that functioned as the older kids' schoolroom but it is currently the domain of the teens. The younger kids have been doing schoolwork in the dining room but I'm not sure I want it as a permanent feature in that room.I have seen smaller table top versions that I could use for our verse and just find another solution for the letter tiles.It's a dilemma.
Friday, July 11, 2008
My new toy
This year my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I gave him my stock answer "Nothing, dear, I have everything I need right here."
He didn't listen to me and bought me an awesome present. I was a bit upset that he did this because we are wanting to remodel the bathroom and this gadget wasn't exactly cheap. That was until I got my hands on it. Every homeschool mom is going to want one of these. Every bookaholic is going to want one of these. Gosh, I should get a commission from Amazon just from the number of these I have "sold" at work this past week!
The best analogy I've heard it called is an IPOD for books. I absolutely LOVE this gadget.
I can download books from resources like the Gutenberg project or feedbooks.com. I now carry Jane Austins' entire collection everywhere I go. I can pre-read my younger kids books and with the flick of a button start reading the older kids' books anywhere I want.
Best purchase made in years.
Spelling- momentary insanity
Even after 13 + years of homeschooling I still have moments of insanity.
I wrote "I noticed that his reading ability is far greater than his spelling ability". Well, DUH! He is 6! My own reading ability exceeds my spelling ability as evidence by my almost constant use of spell check and I'm a bit more advance in age.
Re-reading my own musing in Language Arts and reviewing a few online 1st grade spelling list I feel much more confident in continuing our spelling lessons with our reading lessons.
I wrote "I noticed that his reading ability is far greater than his spelling ability". Well, DUH! He is 6! My own reading ability exceeds my spelling ability as evidence by my almost constant use of spell check and I'm a bit more advance in age.
Re-reading my own musing in Language Arts and reviewing a few online 1st grade spelling list I feel much more confident in continuing our spelling lessons with our reading lessons.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Reading , week 2 & 3
Week 2.
We finished the Little Red Hen. Introduced words, spelled the words and played the games as we did in week 1. By the end of the week he could read the selection with ease. He could spell some but not all of the words introduced.
I noticed that his reading ability is far greater than his spelling ability. I could spend a few more weeks working on this selection before he is able to spell every word in it but would absolutely kill his interest. I do anticipate having to spend some specialized time with spelling ability with Sam in part due to his speech delays. I don't believe that Sam is going to be a natural speller like his older brother who required very little if any spelling instruction other than copywork and dictation. I think that for Sam this spelling instruction should be separate from his reading instruction because his reading ability is going to quickly out pace his spelling ability.
Week 3.
I switched gears this week so I could make an observation and we worked through 2 lessons of 100 EZ lessons. He was enthusiastic with his ease of reading this book after spending some time with other types of reading lessons. He felt that is was "easy" and when we dropped this book he was feeling frustrated with it. Using 100 EZ lesson really is just EASY. Pick up the book and go. It was a nice change for me not to have to plan and decide what to cover in the reading lesson.
Decisions to be made.
Sam could learn to be an independent reader using either program. 100 EZ lesson is easier to use but a bit redundant in practice. Creating a reading program using Treadwell's primers requires a bit more thought from me and could also become redundant if I'm not careful. For the rest of the summer I think that we are going to alternate between the two. We will spend a few weeks concentrating on 100 EZ lessons and a few weeks concentrating on Treadwells's readers.
I need to make a decision regarding spelling. My preferred spelling program that really helped my older daughter is Sequential Speller but it is not appropriate for a 6 year old. I'm going to spend the next week or so researching spelling programs and see if I can find something that will suit us. If not I will continue to do spelling instruction with our Treadwell's reader selections.
We finished the Little Red Hen. Introduced words, spelled the words and played the games as we did in week 1. By the end of the week he could read the selection with ease. He could spell some but not all of the words introduced.
I noticed that his reading ability is far greater than his spelling ability. I could spend a few more weeks working on this selection before he is able to spell every word in it but would absolutely kill his interest. I do anticipate having to spend some specialized time with spelling ability with Sam in part due to his speech delays. I don't believe that Sam is going to be a natural speller like his older brother who required very little if any spelling instruction other than copywork and dictation. I think that for Sam this spelling instruction should be separate from his reading instruction because his reading ability is going to quickly out pace his spelling ability.
Week 3.
I switched gears this week so I could make an observation and we worked through 2 lessons of 100 EZ lessons. He was enthusiastic with his ease of reading this book after spending some time with other types of reading lessons. He felt that is was "easy" and when we dropped this book he was feeling frustrated with it. Using 100 EZ lesson really is just EASY. Pick up the book and go. It was a nice change for me not to have to plan and decide what to cover in the reading lesson.
Decisions to be made.
Sam could learn to be an independent reader using either program. 100 EZ lesson is easier to use but a bit redundant in practice. Creating a reading program using Treadwell's primers requires a bit more thought from me and could also become redundant if I'm not careful. For the rest of the summer I think that we are going to alternate between the two. We will spend a few weeks concentrating on 100 EZ lessons and a few weeks concentrating on Treadwells's readers.
I need to make a decision regarding spelling. My preferred spelling program that really helped my older daughter is Sequential Speller but it is not appropriate for a 6 year old. I'm going to spend the next week or so researching spelling programs and see if I can find something that will suit us. If not I will continue to do spelling instruction with our Treadwell's reader selections.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Reading, Week 1
Day 1.
Introduced words for 1st 2 sentences.
Read each word .
Encouraged him to really look hard at each word.
Made new sentences with each word.
Found words in the stack " Can you find the word hen?" , etc.
Shuffled cards and found them again.
Made silly sentences with the words and read them " The little seed found a red hen.", etc
( mistake I made. I turned over the words he could already read before practicing. He got stressed that I was only leaving the "hard" words.)
Time spent 15 min.
Day 2.
Reviewed words.
Made new words. found -sound-mound, etc. Did not do every possibility.
more sentences using all word combinations possible.
I say a word and he spells it with letter cards. ( he really enjoyed doing this.)
Time spent 15 min.
Day 3
Reviewed words.
Introduced new words for next 2 pages of story.
Made new sentences and read them.
( I had a hard time getting him to do this lesson today-he did not want to do reading first .I introduced too many new words.)
Time spent 20 min. Had to redirect him several times to work.
Day 4
Reviewed words.
Made lots of sentences and read them.
Played a few games with the words that he wasn't reading easily. Pick a card if you read the word you keep it, etc. Concentration, etc.
He read the first 2 pages of the story and I read the next 2 pages of the story.
( I did reading after all his other subjects which did work better. He liked the games. It was easier for him to read the words in the story than randomly)
Time spent 15 min.
Lessons I learned.
Don't get rid of cards that he can read easily too quickly.
Better to introduce fewer words.
Non competitive games. He really enjoys these and really looks hard at each to word to make sure he remembers it.
Next Week
Continue working on the words we have until he knows them without hesitation.
Spelling with letter cards words + words we can make, found- mound, etc.
Possibly introduce the rest of the words in the story.
Keep reading as the last subject of the day.
Introduced words for 1st 2 sentences.
Read each word .
Encouraged him to really look hard at each word.
Made new sentences with each word.
Found words in the stack " Can you find the word hen?" , etc.
Shuffled cards and found them again.
Made silly sentences with the words and read them " The little seed found a red hen.", etc
( mistake I made. I turned over the words he could already read before practicing. He got stressed that I was only leaving the "hard" words.)
Time spent 15 min.
Day 2.
Reviewed words.
Made new words. found -sound-mound, etc. Did not do every possibility.
more sentences using all word combinations possible.
I say a word and he spells it with letter cards. ( he really enjoyed doing this.)
Time spent 15 min.
Day 3
Reviewed words.
Introduced new words for next 2 pages of story.
Made new sentences and read them.
( I had a hard time getting him to do this lesson today-he did not want to do reading first .I introduced too many new words.)
Time spent 20 min. Had to redirect him several times to work.
Day 4
Reviewed words.
Made lots of sentences and read them.
Played a few games with the words that he wasn't reading easily. Pick a card if you read the word you keep it, etc. Concentration, etc.
He read the first 2 pages of the story and I read the next 2 pages of the story.
( I did reading after all his other subjects which did work better. He liked the games. It was easier for him to read the words in the story than randomly)
Time spent 15 min.
Lessons I learned.
Don't get rid of cards that he can read easily too quickly.
Better to introduce fewer words.
Non competitive games. He really enjoys these and really looks hard at each to word to make sure he remembers it.
Next Week
Continue working on the words we have until he knows them without hesitation.
Spelling with letter cards words + words we can make, found- mound, etc.
Possibly introduce the rest of the words in the story.
Keep reading as the last subject of the day.
Sample narration, week 1.
Sam's very first narration....
narration by Sam
A whale met a man and ate him. The man danced and danced in the whale and made the whale hiccough. The man used his suspenders and his raft and made the whale a throat. Now the whale has a throat and can only eat little fish.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Preschooler at work
Friendship bracelets made with pipecleaners and ponybeads have always been a favorite activity with my preschool age kids. My oldest daughter used to make matching ones for all her dolls and horses. Today was Charlotte's first time working on this project and she was content to practice putting on the beads and pulling them off but we did get one finished project.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Charlotte's Bad Grade
Sam gets out the attribute blocks and calls for his sister, " Charlotte, it is time for Shape School . Please come to the table."
Charlotte says, " OK."
Sam pulls out a block and says, " Charlotte, say blue circle."
Charlotte says, " No."
Sam pulls out another block and says, " OK, Charlotte, then say yellow triangle."
Charlotte says, " No."
Sam sighs heavily, pulls out another block and say, " Can you say red rectangle?"
Charlotte giggles and says, "No." She leaves to play kitchen.
Sam gets a piece of paper and a pencil. He writes a giant F on it and gives it to Charlotte and says, " You get a F in Shape School for today."
Charlotte says, " OK."
Sam pulls out a block and says, " Charlotte, say blue circle."
Charlotte says, " No."
Sam pulls out another block and says, " OK, Charlotte, then say yellow triangle."
Charlotte says, " No."
Sam sighs heavily, pulls out another block and say, " Can you say red rectangle?"
Charlotte giggles and says, "No." She leaves to play kitchen.
Sam gets a piece of paper and a pencil. He writes a giant F on it and gives it to Charlotte and says, " You get a F in Shape School for today."
A CM Reading program ?- Early planning
I'm at a real crossroads with reading instruction. I spent some time yesterday reviewing LLATL -blue which I intended to use and decided against it.....far too much busy work and the reading selection are less than stellar. 100 Ez lesson isn't a good fit for Sam and LLATL isn't a good fit for me and I absolutely refuse to purchase another reading/phonics program so I'm going to create my own with Charlotte Mason suggestions.
I found my old, ancient copy of A Home Start in Reading by Ruth Beechick ( which was my first homeschooling purchase back in 1994!) and highlighted everything that Sam knows and can blend with ease. This may have been the least useful thing I have done because nowhere in Charlotte's writing have I yet to find a specific list of phonics rules to teach.
I read through Home Education pgs. 199-222 highlighting as I read.
"Accustom him from the first to shut his eyes and spell the word he has made. This is important. Reading is not spelling, nor is it necessary to spell in order to read well; but the good speller is the child whose eye is quick enough to take in the letters which compose it, in the act of reading off a word, and this is a habit to be acquired from the first: accustom him to see the letters in the word, and he will do without effort." Home Education pg. 204
"The teacher must be content to proceed very slowly, securing the ground under her feet as she goes." pg. 205
"But here is another advantage of slow and steady progress––the saying of each word receives due attention, and the child is trained in the habit of careful enunciation. "pg. 208
I do not have a specific day-to-day plan but instead a day-to-day goal. I will train Sam to "see the word". I will proceed at Sam's pace. I will make sure he is trained in the habit of careful enunciation of the words in our reading lessons.
I found my old, ancient copy of A Home Start in Reading by Ruth Beechick ( which was my first homeschooling purchase back in 1994!) and highlighted everything that Sam knows and can blend with ease. This may have been the least useful thing I have done because nowhere in Charlotte's writing have I yet to find a specific list of phonics rules to teach.
I read through Home Education pgs. 199-222 highlighting as I read.
"Accustom him from the first to shut his eyes and spell the word he has made. This is important. Reading is not spelling, nor is it necessary to spell in order to read well; but the good speller is the child whose eye is quick enough to take in the letters which compose it, in the act of reading off a word, and this is a habit to be acquired from the first: accustom him to see the letters in the word, and he will do without effort." Home Education pg. 204
"The teacher must be content to proceed very slowly, securing the ground under her feet as she goes." pg. 205
"But here is another advantage of slow and steady progress––the saying of each word receives due attention, and the child is trained in the habit of careful enunciation. "pg. 208
I do not have a specific day-to-day plan but instead a day-to-day goal. I will train Sam to "see the word". I will proceed at Sam's pace. I will make sure he is trained in the habit of careful enunciation of the words in our reading lessons.
"Definitely, what is it we propose in teaching a child to read? (a) that he shall know at sight, say, some thousand words; (b) That he shall be able to build up new words with the elements of these. Let him learn ten new words a day, and in twenty weeks he will be to some extent able to read, without any question as to the number of letters in a word. For the second, and less important, part of our task, the child must know the sounds of the letters, and acquire power to throw given sounds into new combinations. "pg 216-217
It will take some time to adjust my thinking from phonics rules to Charlotte's rules. I will probably use my little phonics chart to see progress in our reading program for Sam. Perhaps this will not be a necessary step the second time around with our next reader.
I've chosen Treadwell's The Primer as our text. The first selection is "The Little Red Hen" which will give us 30 words.... some of which Sam already knows by sight or has built with our letter cards. I will continue to use the letter cards that I have laminated from LLATL-blue and use index cards to make our word cards.
I will try to keep each day fresh and different. We will build our words with letter cards, build new words( sound, pound, etc) , make new sentences leaving blanks for words we don't know ( to pique interest per CM),recreate the actual text with our word cards, etc. As I reread CM's writing and the PR articles I will surely come up with new ideas and refine the ones I already have.
I will try to keep each day fresh and different. We will build our words with letter cards, build new words( sound, pound, etc) , make new sentences leaving blanks for words we don't know ( to pique interest per CM),recreate the actual text with our word cards, etc. As I reread CM's writing and the PR articles I will surely come up with new ideas and refine the ones I already have.
I welcome any comment or suggestion as I begin this new direction in our reading program!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Outdoor Hour Challenge #15
We were traveling the Friday that we would have normally done the Outdoor Hour Challenge #15. Nature study helps the miles go by! We id'd our trees that we saw on the way.....Loblolly pines and Southern Magnolia were the ones we saw the most frequently. We counted Egrets that we saw under the Basin Bridge portion of 1-10....37. We realized that yellow Daylillies are a favorite at roadside parks because they were at every single one that we stopped at from Texas to Florida.
Ahh vacation! We spent the week at "The Beach House" on Amelia Island. This is the second time we have stayed at this particular house and I suspect we will head back sometime in the future because we have not explored every nook and cranny of the island. Fabulous place to visit for nature lovers. We of course spent alot of time at the beach. Charlotte's favorite activity was playing in the tide pools. Sam loved it all.....riding wave, flying kits, building sand castles, crawling aroung the sand like a crab from Burgess' Seashore book that we have been reading.
We also spent alot of time exploring Fort Clinch State Park. Florida has the BEST state parks and we usually spend quite a bit of time in them every time we visit. Fort Clinch has a fort that Sam loved, a beach area, a river area, a play ground and hiking trails with real Florida alligators. Yes we did see one but didn't stay to take a picture!
What are these kids looking at?
Red Ear Sliders. We were warned that the was an aligator that has been spotted in this water so we stayed high up on the bridge on today's visit.
Ahh vacation! We spent the week at "The Beach House" on Amelia Island. This is the second time we have stayed at this particular house and I suspect we will head back sometime in the future because we have not explored every nook and cranny of the island. Fabulous place to visit for nature lovers. We of course spent alot of time at the beach. Charlotte's favorite activity was playing in the tide pools. Sam loved it all.....riding wave, flying kits, building sand castles, crawling aroung the sand like a crab from Burgess' Seashore book that we have been reading.We also spent alot of time exploring Fort Clinch State Park. Florida has the BEST state parks and we usually spend quite a bit of time in them every time we visit. Fort Clinch has a fort that Sam loved, a beach area, a river area, a play ground and hiking trails with real Florida alligators. Yes we did see one but didn't stay to take a picture!What are these kids looking at?
Red Ear Sliders. We were warned that the was an aligator that has been spotted in this water so we stayed high up on the bridge on today's visit.
Once back home we went to our butterfly garden in hopes to draw some flowers. Sam was absolutely not interested in drawing flowers. I will use the resources that Barb-Harmony Art Mom suggested in Outdoor Hour Challenge #15 to continue drawing in my journal and perhaps Sam will join me.
The butterfly garden is in full-bloom. The flowers are taller than Charlotte. You can barely see Sam in this picture but he is there standing tall trying to see me over the blooms.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Quarter Update-Spring 2008
Reading-worked out way to lesson 35 with 100 EZ lessons before switching gears. We are back to using LLATL blue doing 4 lessons per week just finished Part 2 lesson 6. All the little pieces that drive me nuts fulfill something in Sam so we will continue using this.
MUS- currently on lesson 27. Will finish Primer then start Alpha this summer. MUS is a winner all the way around.Handwriting-Finished HWT Kindergarten.
Speech- Almost done! We are weaning off Speech Therapy and are currently only attending 1x per month. Speech Therapy is our blankie and we aren't quite ready to give it up. I need a few more months of security.
Sam has really been enjoying our new books especially Burgess' Seashore book. SOTW co-op has been a hit except when we meet at the park......he loses interest quickly when he sees his younger friends running around and playing!
Art with Big Sis' just didn't happen but we have an Art Class during the time our history co-op meets so my desire to add some art/drawing will be met with this activity.
During the summer quarter we will continue to transition to Year 1 but not extend the length of our school day. Our daily schedule will flip/flop and we'll start adding our Year 1 books to our reading rotation.
Mondays schedule - schoolwork in the mornings so we can attend our co-op in the afternoon.
T/TH Mornings will be pool time in the morning with schooltime in the afternoon.
Friday mornings we will do our nature study in the morning with schooltime in the afternoon.
Daily we'll work on
-LA- LLATL blue lesson with a copywork selections chosen from HWT or LLATL
-MUS lesson
-Speech work/Memory work 1 poem this quarter
-Daily reading with narrations
-review Spanish
-listen to composer during playtime
Weekly
Monday
-SOTW/ Art Co-op.
Tuesday
-Handicraft activity
Thursday
-Artist Study
-Introduce new Spanish phrase or words
Friday
-Nature study
I have made our summer schedule and for 9 weeks of school and I used only 2 sheets of paper. I have one page that includes all of our daily activities to check off using Donna Youngs Quarter Planner. The second sheet I created with AO Year 1 reading schedule that I tweaked to allow for our substitutions and to make sure we have only 1 reading selection per day. I kept our daily activities separate so I could re-copy that sheet for each quarter if we don't have any major changes during the year.
Time for a few weeks break-Should start the summer schedule June 16.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Green Hour #14
Pressing Flowers- Green Hour #14
The flower of the week was our Hibiscus. We reviewed the anther and filiment and our new flower part is the stigma which is quite prominant on a Hibiscus. Our plant had flowers in all stages from buds to faded blooms. We also took a good look at our Huisache-Daisy and were able to see them in all stages as well.
Sam watched the video from Green Hour #14 , helped me gather supplies and gathered our Huisache-Daisy and Hibiscus. He was upset that there weren't more variety in our backyard! Charlotte brought us a few Dandelions to press as well. Sam is thinking about what to do with these flowers after they are pressed - his suggestions was to make bookmarks.....we'll see how they turn out.
The flower of the week was our Hibiscus. We reviewed the anther and filiment and our new flower part is the stigma which is quite prominant on a Hibiscus. Our plant had flowers in all stages from buds to faded blooms. We also took a good look at our Huisache-Daisy and were able to see them in all stages as well.Sam watched the video from Green Hour #14 , helped me gather supplies and gathered our Huisache-Daisy and Hibiscus. He was upset that there weren't more variety in our backyard! Charlotte brought us a few Dandelions to press as well. Sam is thinking about what to do with these flowers after they are pressed - his suggestions was to make bookmarks.....we'll see how they turn out.This was the simplest flower press to make! He could do it all by himself!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Green Hour #13
We wanted to take a closer look at our Stargazer Lily but there were no blooms. Sam found perhaps the saddest looking trumpet lily in a much neglected part of our yard- I had quite forgotten that it existed.
We laminated the front and back of one card with the parts of the flower from Barb- Harmony Art Mom's Green Hour Challenge #13. The second card has our Stargazer Lily on one side and our Trumpet Lily on the other.
I wanted to ID the anther and filament since they so prominent on these specimens. Sam wanted to ID all the parts so that is what we did. I think Sam is going to have an easy time remembering our terms for this week-our lily's anther was LOADED with pollen and he was covered with it by the time he was done examining it.
We walked around the yard taking photos of our flowers for the upcoming week and we came across these bugs. I'm not sure what they are but we'll keep an eye on them to see if we can figure it out.Thursday, May 8, 2008
Green Hour #12
New Nature study focus-Green Hour Challenge #12
Sam has had his eye on this particular kit for a while so when I mention that we were going to plant some seeds there was no doubt which seeds we were going to plant! I purchased the fly trap terranium and we kneeded the peat moss and then Sam added the water to make the mixture.
He created a "river" with rocks and added a mini snake for good measure. Now we finally get down to business and plant the tiniest seeds you can imagine. The next step is to........place terratium in the refrigerator and leave for 8 WEEKS before continuing the planting procedure. This is know as stratification. AHHHH.....I know I did this with the older kids but I don't remember this particular step! Check back with us sometime in August.....we'll have some Venus Fly Traps to show ya'll.
Rocket boys
Dear hubby, John, did mention that he was doing science experiments with the kids .....I just didn't realize that it involved explosives.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Evaluation of Sam's Kindergarten Year
We still have 2 more weeks before we take a short break from school but it is a good time to sit back and evaluate before making plans for Sam's year 1.
I use What Your Child Needs to Know When by Robin Sampson to evaluate the kid's progress. I don't use it to plan the year but use it as a benchmark that I review quarterly to make sure we are making progress. Sam accomplished all of the K level requirements by March and has done about 1/4 of the 1st grade as of today.
At Sam's 5th birthday.....
-he only knew the names of a few of the letters and even fewer of the letter sounds. He can now read simple 1st grade level books.
-He could count to 10 but did not recognize numbers. He can now count to 100+,understands place value, can do addition to sum of 10, and skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s. He has started to answer the addition problems and then check his answer with blocks.
-He could write his name in block letters. He can now write all the letter in upper and lower case and has started doing some simple copywork.
Beyond the basics, Sam enjoyed many good books and through them he explored geography, science , history and literature in a fun , easy manner. He also did a very thorough study of the human body on his own initiative. Dad and Sam have enjoyed doing science experiments together when I'm at work including but not necessarily limited to magnets, rockets, and a few that I don't recall since I didn't get to participate.
I have learned that CM is a good fit for my younger children-I now have a solid framework to work with when planning this upcoming year. I have also learned that using manipulatives is very important for Sam and I need to be willing to work with that need during his learning to read phrase.
Looking forward to working with a 6 year old boy soon!
I use What Your Child Needs to Know When by Robin Sampson to evaluate the kid's progress. I don't use it to plan the year but use it as a benchmark that I review quarterly to make sure we are making progress. Sam accomplished all of the K level requirements by March and has done about 1/4 of the 1st grade as of today.
At Sam's 5th birthday.....
-he only knew the names of a few of the letters and even fewer of the letter sounds. He can now read simple 1st grade level books.
-He could count to 10 but did not recognize numbers. He can now count to 100+,understands place value, can do addition to sum of 10, and skip count by 2s, 5s, and 10s. He has started to answer the addition problems and then check his answer with blocks.
-He could write his name in block letters. He can now write all the letter in upper and lower case and has started doing some simple copywork.
Beyond the basics, Sam enjoyed many good books and through them he explored geography, science , history and literature in a fun , easy manner. He also did a very thorough study of the human body on his own initiative. Dad and Sam have enjoyed doing science experiments together when I'm at work including but not necessarily limited to magnets, rockets, and a few that I don't recall since I didn't get to participate.
I have learned that CM is a good fit for my younger children-I now have a solid framework to work with when planning this upcoming year. I have also learned that using manipulatives is very important for Sam and I need to be willing to work with that need during his learning to read phrase.
Looking forward to working with a 6 year old boy soon!
Our Year 1 booklist
Language Arts
Handwriting without Tears -Printing practice
Copywork Book 1 by Memoria Press
Our CM reading program + 100 Easy Lessons
All About Spelling Book 1
How I'm putting this all together....
-Oral narration from various subjects.
-Daily reading instruction
-Daily copywork from HWT/ Copywork Book 1/ or other subjects only 1 per day.
-Memory work from Copywork Book 1 + poetry
Mathmatics -Math-U-See Alpha
Foreign Language -Phrase-A-Day Spanish
Bible- Every Day with God
Poetry
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Now We Are Six/When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
History
Story of the World-Vol. 2....reading to correspond with a local history co-op
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
Handwriting without Tears -Printing practice
Copywork Book 1 by Memoria Press
Our CM reading program + 100 Easy Lessons
All About Spelling Book 1
How I'm putting this all together....
-Oral narration from various subjects.
-Daily reading instruction
-Daily copywork from HWT/ Copywork Book 1/ or other subjects only 1 per day.
-Memory work from Copywork Book 1 + poetry
Mathmatics -Math-U-See Alpha
Foreign Language -Phrase-A-Day Spanish
Bible- Every Day with God
Poetry
A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Now We Are Six/When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
History
Story of the World-Vol. 2....reading to correspond with a local history co-op
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
American History Biography
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
George Washington by Ingri D'Aulaire
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire
Pocahontas by Ingri D'Aulaire
Geography
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Natural History/Science
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Seashore Book for Children By Thornton Burgess
Literature
The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter
Tales for Shakespeare by Charles Lamb
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Among the .....People by by Clara Dillingham Pierson
Bedtime Reading
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Fairy Books by Andrew Lang
Also Weekly
Art Appreciation - one artist per quarter
Music appreciation-one composer per quarter
Handicrafts - to be determined by interest
Nature Study- follow Outdoor Hour challenges.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Spring Update.
Things are changing around here. Sam has grown completely out of the stage of hearing a story over and over so we have abandoned FIAR and reading 1 story each week. Instead we are reading SOTW story on Monday, Among the Meadow People by Clara Dillingham Pierson on Tuesday, Burgess Seashore Book for Children on Thursday, and a Fairytale/literature selection on Friday.
We are also planning on taking a break from 100 EZ lessons. I feel like we are nearing a wall and instead of frustrating Sam and actually hitting it we are going to do something else for awhile. He is getting bogged down with the sounding out of words as the reading selections have increased in length. I have pulled out the cards that I have laminated from LLATL and made a few more to correspond to what he has learned from 100 EZ lessons with the idea to spend some time drilling while playing games. I found a game board online and laminated it. I will see how creative I can get with this over the next few weeks. Concentration, Go Fish type games are a given. I think I can come up with a couple of ideas with the game board....roll the dice and you get to move X number of spots if you read X number of words....that sort of thing. We will also spend this time reading the booklets that we have from LLATL and the stories we have already read with 100 EZ lessons. I will also try to create some CM styled reading lessons with The Primer by Treadmill that I have on hand. Lots of ideas and I'll just have to wait and see which one works best for him.
We are also planning on taking a break from 100 EZ lessons. I feel like we are nearing a wall and instead of frustrating Sam and actually hitting it we are going to do something else for awhile. He is getting bogged down with the sounding out of words as the reading selections have increased in length. I have pulled out the cards that I have laminated from LLATL and made a few more to correspond to what he has learned from 100 EZ lessons with the idea to spend some time drilling while playing games. I found a game board online and laminated it. I will see how creative I can get with this over the next few weeks. Concentration, Go Fish type games are a given. I think I can come up with a couple of ideas with the game board....roll the dice and you get to move X number of spots if you read X number of words....that sort of thing. We will also spend this time reading the booklets that we have from LLATL and the stories we have already read with 100 EZ lessons. I will also try to create some CM styled reading lessons with The Primer by Treadmill that I have on hand. Lots of ideas and I'll just have to wait and see which one works best for him.
Green Hour #10 & #11
Green Hour Challenge #10 asked us to have an outdoor picnic. My kids thought I'd lost it when I took this picture of them eating today. We eat outdoors several times a week most of the year-although usually not junk food like today!
Green Hour Challenge #11 asked us to start a seasonal tree study. Our focus area this quarter has been trees and we are ambitious and are going to try to follow 6 of the trees in our yard. We shall see how that turns out this year.....
Big Sis' joined us for a hike after lunch. We were able to climb the bike trails which is far more exciting then walking the flat walking paths. Sam calls this off-roading and it is one of his favorite activities.
We also toured a local sea turtle facility. Awesome! We've toured one during a recent trip to Florida but yesterday we were able to get up close. It was SO hot in there the kids were beet red and our clothing was drenched with sweat when we left.
Charlotte was amazed by the babies and didn't want to leave their tank. Sam was fascinated with the 2 year old turtles and we learned that in nature it would take these loggerhead turtles 7 years to reach this size.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Green Hour #9
We spent the day attempting to volunteer at the butterfly garden and chasing Charlotte which didn't work out very well. While we were there we got a chance to watch this baby armadillo do some serious rooting around in square foot area.
Be the armadillo, Sam! We did not have as much luck finding items as the armadillo but it sure was fun pretending.Friday, April 4, 2008
Green Hour #8
Magnifying glasses have always been well used around here but our absolute favorite was a Brock Magiscope which proved to be indestructable but not toddler proof. Charlotte managed to hide the shaft so well that we have never been able to find it. Our new favorite device is the Eyeclops.
You really can see your sweat as it emerges from the gland and nothing gets our whole family involved in one activity than this cool device. Far better that an microscope because everyone can "ohhh and ahhh" at the same time. Today we looked at leaves, a couple of the wildflowers in our yard, and of course body parts....we can't seem to get the eyeclops out without trying to find something on somebody that is disgusting. It was remarkably easy to get Sam in the shower tonight after he saw how much microscopic dirt was on him after our outing this afternoon.
This week we added an entry for our Texas Ash tree. Sam disliked my attempted outline of a Blue Jay so I found a website with a picture that I printed off for him to color. He is very specific about what he wants to include in his notebook. This entry has a drawing of the bark , a leaf rubbing, a Blue Jay, and a drawing of his treehouse that is under this tree.
A pan of seeds, assorted funnels and containers to fill and refill and you have entertainment for the kids, seeds for the birds and hopefully plants in a few weeks.Up close and personal- Green Hour # 8
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