A Major Changes for This Year

My oldest two children are 19 months apart. Both boys. So I've tried to school them together as much as I can. Last year, when my seven year old son was a first grader and the baby was a baby, that seemed to work. But this year it was not working. For starters, the baby is two. She is mobile and into everything! I was also dissatisfied with the amount of work I was doing to keep them together. I'll admit it, I love to tweak, but there are only so many hours in a day! We follow a less-is-more, The Latin-Centered Curriculum philosophy. And for the nitty-gritty, we look to Charlotte Mason. So I kept looking for an easy, laid out solution, but the only multi-year curriculum I could find that I liked was Simply Charlotte Mason. A fine package, but after pouring over AO's booklist, SCM seemed light. Why read "Detectives in Togas" when in AO they would read the "Tanglewood Tales" and then "The Heroes" by Charles Kingsley and then "The Age of Fable"? All by year six. Plus, AO actually has a LOT of classics built in: the previous books, Aesop's tales, Plutarch. Sure, I could just add to SCM, but that seemed like work as well. Especially when AO fits so nicely in my budget because of it's public domain, readily available books. SCM links to it's own bookfinder, where you can buy books if you need to. I also started to wonder how many copies of each book would I need? I would almost always have two kids reading the same books, possibly three. Did that mean I'd have to buy three copies of each book, buy everyone a Kindle, or else spend all my time scheduling who got what book? I started to question if I really wanted to keep the kids together or if I should separate them? Somehow, I stumbled back onto the Charlotte Mason Help website. I'd been to it before, back when it was Higher Up and Further In (HUFI). This time I really read the articles. And I read on the Ambleside email groups. Many people listed advantages to having kids in their own years, especially after they could read independently. I realized I wanted them to love learning, and to not be spoon-fed by me. Reading on HUFI, I also realized I was not challenging my eldest enough. Sure, he has problems with reading, but his comprehension is well-developed, and was being left stagnant. His reading is coming along, as is his seven year old brother's. I should have them both reading about half their own books by next year, barring a major incident. Which meant I would never be reading three years worth of curriculum aloud, even when my youngest son starts first grade next year. So I'm splitting them up, at least for the rest of this year. I can schedule one-on-one time with each boy, and I've noticed they pay more attention and narrate better. It's like another mom said: I'm a better tutor than a classroom manager. And an added bonus: whichever older boy I'm not working with can play with his two year old sister! Plus an extra special bonus: I already own almost all the books we need for HUFI in hard copy or in ebook format! So I put my 9 year old in year 4 of HUFI, substituting a quick round of American history for the 20th century history. We can skip the non Indo-european cultures in year 5 and do the 20th century then. I put my 7 year old in year 2 of HUFI, and the only change was that I subbed the Burgess Animal Book (we've read most of it) for year 1's natural history books. He loves James Herriot's Treasury for Children. And that's what we've been up to - swinging a bit the the Charlotte Mason side of the scale.

A 36 Week Schedule for The Rainbow Book of American History

I've just finished breaking The Rainbow Book of American History into 36 segments for my 4th grader, and I decided to post it here. I hope it helps someone out, it was very difficult to find information on this OOP book.

Term 1: The Vikings to the Battle of York

1. Chapter 1 (6 pgs)
2. Chapter 2 (8 pgs)
3. Chapter 3 (8 pgs)
4. Chapter 4  (8 pgs)
5. Chapters 5-6 (9 pgs)
6. Chapters 7-8  (11 pgs)
7. Chapter 9 (6 pgs)
8. Chapter 10 (6 pgs)
9. Chapter 11 (6 pgs)
10. Chapter 12 (9 pgs)
11. Chapters 13-14 (10 pgs)
12. Chapters 15-16 (10 pgs)

Term 2: The Constitution Through the Civil War

1. Chapters 17-18 (9 pgs)
2. Chapter 19 (7 pgs)
3. Chapter 20 (6 pgs)
4. Chapter 21 (10 pgs)
5. Chapters 22-23 (12 pgs)
6. Chapter 24 (7 pgs)
7. Chapter 25 (6 pgs)
8. Chapter 26 (7 pgs)
9. Chapter 27 (6 pgs)
10. Chapters 28-29 (10 pgs)
11. Chapters 30-31 (12 pgs)
12. Chapters 32-33 (11 pgs)

Term 3: Westward Expansion and Gold Rush Through World War II

1. Chapter 34 (9 pgs)
2. Chapters 35-36 (9 pgs)
3. Chapters 37-38 (11 pgs)
4. Chapter 39 (6 pgs)
5. Chapter 40 (6 pgs)
6. Chapter 41 (6 pgs)
7. Chapter 42 (8 pgs)
8. Chapters 43-44 (11 pgs)
9. Chapters 45-46 (10 pgs)
10. Chapters 47-48 (11 pgs)
11. Chapter 49 (6 pgs)
12. Chapter 50 (6 pgs)

We haven't started the book yet, it is supposed to be similar in style to A Child's History of the World, which we love. I will try to post a review later on, after we've used the book for a while.

Weekly Report: Week 1 - August 29, 2011

We've (almost - science today) finished our second week back. Overall I'm pleased with how much we've gotten done, despite some very hectic weeks (this week it was the sewer backing up - what fun).


Accomplishments: 

• Jonathan's Latin review is going well. We've dropped back several lessons in Getting Started with Latin and are reviewing 2 (or 3) a day, orally. After wrapping up GSWL, we'll start Nutting's Latin Primer. Jonathan is also reviewing / cementing some math concepts with Math Mammoth. I love that it's independent, but I prefer the length of MEP's worksheets.
• David is enjoying Minimus. He also made a fabulous leap forward with his handwriting. He went from s-u-p-e-r slow and complaining, with poorly formed letters, to a more normal pace and nice, legible writing. He finished cursive for the first 26 phonograms (also known as the alphabet) this week. Friday I gave him a short sentence from his geography to copy, and he did great.
• Andrew is still working on number association. He counts well (in Spanish too) but doesn't yet now the written number. He loves doing school however. We are doing FIAR together (and the older boys usually listen too) and he loves it. We just finished Ping this week. (We use each book two weeks, three days a week, including the Christian Character Supplement.)
• I'm having David & Andrew wash pots and pans in the morning while I work with Jonathan. That is my best idea this year - works great, the pots get clean, and my youngest sons learn how to buckle down and work without big brother's help.
• BFSU (Building Foundations in Scientific Understanding) is loved too. We are doing a fast pace for Jonathan & David, we'll finish the first book this year; and a normal pace for Andrew, finishing about 1/3 of the book.

Vintage Finds:

• Home Geography for the Primary Grades - nice, short lessons that show rather than tell. It included a little paragraph to copy, which is what I abbreviated from for David. (I wrote every other line on a sheet of wide-lined paper, and he wrote below my handwriting.) I had Jonathan copy directly from the printed page, which was a challenge for him. He did the first full sentence. 
• Hurlbut's Story of the Bible - elegant and true to the Bible, but really connects the story together. I only wish the chapters where more consistent in length. You can read it free at Main Lesson, and if you buy it go with Yesterday's Classics (owner of Main Lesson). She has retyped the books, kept the illustrations, and for ebooks, put in a proper Table of Contents.

Changes (You all new this was coming...)

• Writing Road to Reading is being replaced by Spell To Write and Read again. I'm going to make my own charts on the computer to cut down on the kids' writing, and I'll use some ideas from WRTR, but I'm going back to SWR because it's easier to structure. I found the word list in WRTR hard to follow (some words are repeated, some are examples only and not for the spelling book, etc.). WRTR has fewer charts / reference pages, which is one idea a may adapt; it also only repeats some words, not all of them. (SWR does each word twice.) So I'm going to be a SWR heretic. Jonathan will be doing 40 words a week, David 20. Andrew will be doing the phonograms (which are the same). I have the two books coming, but will be looking for some phonogram cards. (Or making some...)
• My MOTH (Managers of Their Homes) schedule has changed almost daily. REALLY frustrating. Splitting myself between two school age, a kindergarten, and a toddler is difficult. I'll try to post it later. Next week I'm going to plan 1-on-1 with the eldest for spelling (dictation) and Latin. For their other boxes I'll be available, and I have a list of activities they can do while waiting for me.

I want to note I'm not trying to spam the Amazon links. When I post products anywhere, I try to include some type of website for more information. And I love Amazon, their prime / student membership, and all the reviews. Plus I have the Amazon Associates wizard, so links are super easy. So I hope they are helpful to anyone who needs them.

I also want to thank the poster on The Well Trained Mind Forums who recommended XrtaMath. It has video instructions and runs the kids through a nice review of basic facts. It's on my list of very helpful websites, along with Spelling City and Dance Mat Typing.

We're still searching for our groove this year, but it was a good week overall.

Nature Study: Nature Walk

After being sick half the week we finally made it out. We walked around a pond near our house. Total distance: about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile. Total time: about 90 minutes. But we had fun. We saw the following:

• A robin.
  
• Several schools of bullfish - under 1" long
• One adult bullfish, apparently protecting the school (that's what I've been told)
• Other schools of minnows - trout or sunfish.
• Sunfish of various sizes - one to four or five inches. A good example of the big fish [trying to] eat the smaller fish.
  
• Cat tale reeds. Clovers.
  
• Places where others had littered (we will bring a bag next time).
• A small turtle (Mom)
• Rocks
• Driftwood (David liked this)
• Andrew says he saw an alligator, which was probably driftwood. There was actually an escaped pet alligator found in the pond several years ago, so its not impossible. He was warning David that the alligator would bite him.
  
• Butterflies: black and yellow.
• Thistles (most of the taller ones had been sprayed)
• Grasshopper (Jonathan and David)

To do next time:

• Bring a bag for trash.
• Bring a small pack with a bird book and maybe a magnifying glass or binoculars.
• Bring the camera.
• Try bringing a sketchbook and some pencils or watercolors.
  

Why Do I Need a Math Curriculum

Really? I'm not bad at math - I don't fear it (I'm starting to fear phonics, but thats another post). I'm looking at MEP, and I was reading about Mammoth Math. I just don't think I need a curriculum to teach addition and subtraction. (Yes I was also reading livingmath.net - playing War by adding two cards is a great idea.) I'm not going to teach Algebra on my own, but on the other hand, my brother picked up math FAST when he started doing woodwork. He had a reason to use it.

My son likes filling out workbook pages, but I could get those fairly cheap (or free online), or even make my own. I already have some Kumon books for him - the telling time and I'll get him the counting money one later if I think he needs it.

I guess what's the point of math? Spiral vs. mastery, manipulatives vs. workbooks. If I think about the end goal I want him to take enough math to get into college (or a tradeschool / field / whatever). I also want him to be able to USE math in everyday life - to see its application. Perhaps not love math, but at least appreciate its value.

I want to have more fun I guess - he likes to learn, especially math, and I don't want to ruin that.

Decisions, decisions

Handwriting
After doing some reading, I stumbled onto an e-book available to purchase at pennygardener.com titled Italics Beautiful Handwriting for Children. It moves at a different pace than the Italics Series I mentioned last week, but you can print whatever you need for your immediate family. It has both italic print and cursive. I'm leaning towards buying the e-book instead of the Italics series.

Phonics
There is a post on the Well Trained Mind forums titled "I HATE teaching phonics." I'm starting to agree, and I only have one child actually learning phonics! He knows the sounds but needs a lot of prompting the whole lesson. I tried Alpha-Phonics and the reading lessons from Charlotte Mason, but he doesn't seem to care. This is the one who can build a perfectly symetrical plane / transformer / etc. with his Legos and Knex blocks, but can't be bothered to look to see if its an "m" or an "n" before guessing.

So I noticed "Explore the Code" mentioned, and the fact that it has an online option. We tried the sample lessons, and DS seemed to do better and enjoyed it. I will have to make sure they don't reward guessing, but I think we will sign him up. For $25 (plus a $5 fee) I can join through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op from now to March of 2010. That sounds like a good deal to me! I won't have to beat my head on the wall, DS will learn AND he will think its a game instead of a chore. He can work on his own and I can take a break or spend time with the younger kids.

Joining th Co-op
Since using the Homeschool Buyers Co-op saves me $25, I joined. It was pretty painless, put in your email, they send the standard confirmation email and you click the link to verify. They assure your privacy (actually you don't give much information to start anyway). You can even print (free) or order ($7) a nice student ID card, which might come in handy in the future! Other deals at this time are 10% off Rosetta Stone and an eBook store, which I might check out.

A Few Changes

I am working on our schedule for the upcoming year, and we are changing a few things.

First, I'm going to start doing school year-round. I haven't decided if we should start a new AO Term at specific points (like a new term every July, November and March) or just take a week off after one term and then start another. If we start a new term every 4 months we could do a few short unit studies, which I think would be fun with the boys choosing a topic. I do want to keep all the boys on the same term week. (So one might be in Year 1 Term 1 and the other in Year 2 term 3, but both are doing the 4th week. That will make any exams we do on the same week, then everyone gets X time of before a new term.) This term is going to be slower and will end in late October, since we have a new baby due the first of November.

Second, I am trying some new books / methods. I will be switching to MEP for math (read more here) and adding books from the Italic Handwriting Series for handwriting. I'm also going to try Charlotte Mason's reading method with my oldest.

The plan is still evolving though!

Reorganized and Moving Again

It turns out we (I) just needed to slow down and tweak my planning: we are still doing AO year 1 with the Engineer. I made a form for myself that has space for two readings a day, and four schoolwork days a week. Most of the weeks for AO Year 1 had seven readings, so we actually have time to get them all done with a spare 'block'. I also planned out what order to teach what, maximum time to spent on each subject, and what kids should be present.

This ensures that:

• The kids all get breaks AND they all get attention. For example, I added a story time for the Explorer (my youngest) right in the middle, so he gets to spend time with me while the older two get a break. I spaced the breaks the Engineer gets as evenly as I could.
  
• Most subjects are ten minutes - that is plenty of time. Math is 20 minutes, twice a week. German is 15 minutes, but i am still planning that subject.
• The whole day maximizes at two hours and thirty minutes. That includes a ten minute break with the Explorer and two ten minute sessions one-on-one with the artist.
• Combining subjects. Everyone is present for Bible reading, safety, German and Crossfit Kids (exercise - I will start it next week). The oldest two both do (with VERY loose standards for the Artist, he usually sits in) copy work and poetry. So phonics, math and the AO selections are done separately.
  
• An in-your-face reminder list: empty boxes. I am planning to start drawing soon as well, but haven't outlined that yet. It will be the last subject I add on this sheet. Hymn study, folksong study, artist study and composer study I hope to start next week, with the older two while allowing the youngest to participate on his level.
• I have tried to alternate sitting with movement, listening with interacting, etc.
• I left space on the bottom for a fifth day of school (or an afternoon) to do our nature study. I am planning to do the nature hour challenge, hopefully that will cover all of AO's nature topics. (For example, the nature hour challenge is doing trees, AO 1 recomments animals. As long as all are covered its fine, or we will do two walks - I like being outdoors.)

So far it seems to help, at least I don't feel as lost. Still to implement (in order):

1. Crossfit Kids- We do Taekwondo twice a week but we can do this daily. Everything is laid out I just need to gather the equipment and get moving.
2. Composer study - My Bach CD is missing, I need to order a new one or try to find a store here that carries classical music. Until then I may try last.fm.
3. Artist study - since my color printer is now working.
4. Folk song and Hymn study - To confess I'm not sure here, I thought I knew a lot of hymns but I don't know these. The folk songs I want to play on my guitar while we sing.
5. Drawing - last because I need to work on my own drawing skill first, then figure out my goals, etc. for teaching the kids.

Slowing Down

We are going to slow down and drop the AO Year 1 readings. There is too much going on right now, I feel overwhelmed. And while I believe my oldest is learning, I think some time just working on listening skills with the AO Year 0 books will help him to listen and narrate better. I have been reading on the AO website and mailing lists, and people say that they haven't regretted waiting a year. Besides, year 2 is recommended for 8-9 year olds, so by waiting my son will be that age when he starts year 2.

For the rest of this year we are going to work on Bible, habit training (starting with attentiveness), the 3 R's, nature study and narration skills with the year 0 or year 0.5 books. I think we will do one reading a day and I will have him narrate. We are going to continue to read poetry and also start doing the composer and artist studies, so there will be plenty of learning. This should give me time to simplify our schedule so I can keep everything semi-organized.

Daily Subjects:

• Bible (family), memory verses from Poineer Clubs at church.
  
• Phonics (3R's and the Alpha-Phonics).
• Math (Telling Time, Making Math Meaningful level 1 and life skills like counting money).
• Copywork - just 1 to 3 well-written words.
• Poetry - 1 per day.
• Narration - 1 short reading per day.
  
• German.
• Time outdoors.

Weekly Subjects:

• Guitar - with Dad, 3x.
• Composer Study.
• Artist Study.
• Hymn and Folk Songs (I'm not sure how to plan these yet).
• Handicrafts, safety and life skills.
• Drawing or art (using "Drawing with Children").
• Taekwondo - 2 classes a week.
  

I think thats good for a first grader - especially since we are learning the CM method. We may start year 1 in January and stretch it to 1 1/2 years, or just start year 1 when he starts second grade next fall. I really think waiting will benefit us all.

Home School Plans for 2008-2009

This year I have a 1st grader, a Pre-K and a Toddler. One thing I want to do this year is cut back on DVDs and read to the kids more. I have tried Unit Studies in the past (including when I was home-schooled) but they require more time than I have. I also think it will be better with the boys separate so that they don't feel inferior to each other (this is mentioned on Ambleside Online's FAQ). There is enough "my older brother did ___" in the world without adding academics too.

1st Grade - DS1 "The Engineer"

• Bible: Old and New Testament stories from Penny Gardner. Reading from Psalms and Proverbs.
  
• Reading: Ruth Beechick's 3 R's and Alpha-Phonics
• Math: Making Math Meaningful Level 1, Easy Telling Time and Telling Time, both by Kumon, counting change, months/days, measuring and lots of practical skills.
• Writing: Ruth Beechick's 3 R's. Lots of copywork. Also ideas from Writing Strands 1.
• Foreign Language: We are learning German. I have Power-Glide as well as various internet finds and books. I am hoping to use stories to teach.
  
• History / Geography / Nature / Poetry / Literature / Art / Music: From Ambleside Online (AO), we are planning to do year 1.
• Nature Study: Nature walks, study Mammals, Birds, etc as in AO. Notice the trees, sky / moon / stars, grow plants, care for animals, catch bugs, etc.
  
• Music Lessons: Guitar with Dad.
  
• Fitness: Taekwondo.

Pre-K - DS2 "The Artist"

• Bible: Old and New Testament stories from Penny Gardner. Reading from Psalms and Proverbs.
  
• Reading: Ruth Beechick's 3 R's (basic letter sounds, so he isn't left out).
• Math: Life skills.
• Writing: Letter and number formation, again very informal and basic.
• Foreign Language: German - learned with games and stories (I hope to keep this fun).
• Nature Study: Lots of time outside & exploring nature (sky, weather, plants, animals, etc.).
  
• Fitness: Taekwondo.

Toddler - DS3 "The Explorer"

• Bible: Reading with the rest of us.
• Attention: More time reading with Mom.
• Potty Training: He is working on this. Yay! My last one.

Trial Run
This month we will try to complete the first 2 weeks of AO, just to see that it is the appropriate level before buying books. We may need to do AO year 0 instead.