2 Week Check Up

I want to start giving a brief review of what we have done for school every couple weeks, mostly because I don't always remember to tell my husband what we are doing and this way he can see what we've completed.

Old Testament - I read 4 chapters from the Old Testament Stories and the kids completed pages 38-43 in their Discover the Old Testament notebooks.

Habit Training - We continue to work on making good bathroom habits . . . um, ah . . . habits? They are all getting much better - toilets are flushed, doors closed, and lights off most of the time!! We are maintaining a simple 4 step repentance process and speaking politely to each other. Good days and bad days.

Math - This week was finishing up chapter 7 of Math-U-See Beta. A is ready to move on, N is not. In fact, N needs to do some review of a few earlier concepts. I don't know how she is going to feel about this, but she is really struggling with the double digit addition and today she was struggling with single digit, which might be a real concern and might not. And maybe she just wasn't focused the last couple weeks. Its hard to know - sometimes she blows me away with how fast she completes an assignment I thought she would struggle with, and sometimes she fights and struggles through every single problem with concepts I thought she knew well.

Science - We read chapter 1 in Astronomy, and the kids did the journal pages in their notebooks, and a couple projects. Instead of doing the project outlined in the book of blowing up balloons to represent the sun and planets, N bought a solar system set at our homeschool group's curriculum sale and we put it on her bedroom ceiling. She is thrilled it glows in the dark. A bought a set of animal information cards at the curriculum sale and they have spent a lot of time reading about all the "Weird'n'Wild Creatures," sharing all the interesting details with me and my husband.

History - We watched 5 Liberty Kids episodes, did narration and journal pages, and added to our timeline. We watched so many because the kids request them so some of this was done after "school hours." We are about 7 or 8 episodes away from finishing this series. We also started reading George Washington by the D'Aulaires. I read a page and one of the kids narrates back to me.

Geography - We read 3 chapters of Minn of the Mississippi, did narration, learned a little about Snapper Turtles, and started working on our maps. I was worried this book was going to be too challenging for them, but they are really interested in the story and following along really well.

Nature Study - We completed 4 challenges from the Outdoor Hour Challenges - Evening primroses, summer weather, bats/hearing, and owls. This is my favorite part - getting outdoors and appreciating God's creations!

Literature - We listened to Alice in Wonderland and the kids completed an oral test. A couple days ago we started Tyger, Tyger (a Two Brothers type story set in ancient Rome). Austin started reading How to Train Your Dragon. Today I bought some picture books from the library and they spent most of the morning reading them.

Artist Study - We finished up Van Gogh by having the kids select a painting to reproduce. We are getting ready to start our art appreciation class next week for Renoir.

Composer Study - We listened to several Handel selections. Easy-peasy. We'll start Tchaikovsky in a couple weeks.

Extracurricular - I have A and N working on their Faith in God together. This week was about being a good citizen so A was able to pass off some stuff for Bear Scouts too. A's den meeting was cancelled this week because he is getting new leaders and they haven't gotten together to plan yet. N is going on a hike today with her Activity Days group. They both had their first meetings for their book clubs. N and I started reading Meet Josephina for her club, and we won't get A's books until the next meeting. A and N also had ice skating lessons one night this week. I think they are going to start doing more individual lessons after they complete this level - N wants to learn speed skating and A wants to learn how to play hockey. Good grief we are going to be running around a lot.

Summer Series #5 - Owls

Outdoor Hour Challenge - Summer Series - #5 Owls

We have been very fortunate to have several owl experiences very close to our home over the last year and a half. In Spring of 2009 we found an owl nest less than half a mile from our home. We often walked there to check up on the nestlings, occasionally catch sight of the parents, and after the nestlings had left, we ventured under the tree to collect owl pellets to dissect. Here is a link to a follow up study we did on owls earlier this year when we were hopeful we would be able to observe them again: Nature Study Follow-Up. Unfortunately, we did not find the new nest for the owls and haven't seen them this year.

In April of this year we visited the Thanksgiving Point Gardens and a guide pointed out the above Great Horned Owl nesting on the side of a waterfall. When I recently placed my order for science supplies from Home Science Tools I added a couple owl pellets so my order would qualify for free shipping :). The kids dissected them this week.

They weren't as enthusiastic about these as the first ones we did, in fact they were a little more squeemish about it this time around. But they did become more enthusiastic as they went along and discovered the many types of bones. I am always amazed at how many bones fit in these tiny pellets. We also took a few different occasions to discuss from memory characteristics of owls - how they nest, what they eat, that they are nocturnal, and so on. I am always amazed by how much my kids remember! We enjoyed reviewing these wonderful birds!

I am amzed at how many challenges we've been able to catch up on this month! I didn't want to miss any! I'm so grateful for Barb and her blog, Handbook of Nature Study! Thank you! Thank you!

How we do it: Artist Study

Once I have selected an Artist (usually someone I or the kids are interested in) I try to find a selection of prints. In the past we have used Taschen Portfolios I found at Barnes & Noble for $5-$10. With our next Artist we will be using a calendar - you can find calendars for past year for $3-$5, and current calendars are $10-$15. I let my kids take turns picking which print we will put on our fridge. I like to leave them up for at least 2 weeks, but I admit sometimes they are up for 3 or 4 weeks. We try to study at least 6 prints. A couple days each week we take a few minutes, usually during breakfast or lunch, to talk about the painting - What do you see? What colors were used? What shapes and lines stand out? Can you see the brush strokes? etc. After a couple weeks we put up a new painting.

Any Doctor Who fans caught up with the latest season? I admit I'm a slightly obsessive fan, and I picked the picture for this week:

After a couple months I let the kids pick a painting to reproduce. Sometimes they pick one we have studied, sometimes they pick one we didn't. They also get to choose which medium they will use - paint, markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc. For paper we use 11"x14" posterboards I found on clearance. This gives the kids a large enough paper to work with which is also stronger than copypaper or even drawing paper. Here are their most recent pictures - Good-bye Vincent Van Gogh. Using a large size posterboard I made each of them a portfolio by folding it in half and taping the sides. We keep their pictures in it and they love being able to look at them and remember the artists. This is the basics of doing Artist Study, but there are a couple other things I like to do as well.

I find a few picture books from the library about the artist, but I like the books to have a story, as opposed to a biography with dull facts and dates. Some excellent examples are the Anholt's Artist Books for Children by Laurence Anholt: Camille and the Sunflowers, Picasso and the Girl with the Ponytail, Leonardo and the Flying Boy, etc. I also make them each a notebook page with a picture of the artist, basic dates, and a few inspiring quotes. They are starting to get quite a collection and love to look through them.

Good-bye Vincent Van Gogh

This week we finished up our Artist Study of Vincent Van Gogh. The kids picked a picture they wanted to try coloring. They decided to use crayons this time.

N - Vase with Twelve Sunflowers

A - Noon Rest from Work (after Millet)

Summer Series #4 - Bats & Hearing

Outdoor Hour Challenge - Summer Series - #4 Bats & Hearing

We didn't have any sucess observing any bats in the wild the last couple weeks. The kids did see some fruit bats at our zoo last month.

We didn't have any luck seeing bats in our neighborhood so we made a couple evening trips to a local park with a pond and small forested area. We didn't have any luck there either, though we did have lots of fun feeding the ducks :), and playing and running in the trees.
We watched the YouTube video about bats from the challenge and the Planet Earth: Caves dvd, which has a segment about Deer Cave, bats, and more bat guano than you even want to think about. I also gave the kids this Bat Life Cycle page from kidzone.

How we do it: Geography

Like many families we have a number of maps -- We don't have the wall space to put them up, which I wish we could, and we don't have the table space to keep them out, which I also wish we could, so we pull them out whenever we are discussing locations around the world whether it be during school, watching tv, or during general Q&A style conversations with kids. We have at different times focused on specific countries, but mostly we take a literature approach to Geography. The last few years we have read several of Holling C. Holling books and mapped the journey the characters take in the books. I have the guide Geography: A Literature Approach. This guide includes lesson ideas for history, science, literature, and geography, but we mostly use the geography sections.

Right now we are reading Minn of the Mississippi, the journey of a snapper turtle hatching in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and traveling to the end of the Mississippi during her lifetime. During the week we do Geography on two days and read one chapter each day. After we read, we get out our maps and mark any progress the character made. If there wasn't any progress in the journey, we fill in surrounding states and major cities.

I make each of us our own maps, printed on cardstock, which we label and color as we read. For this one I used a map I found at Enchanted Learning and cropped it for the location we need.

How we do it: History

History

We have 2 history days each week. On the first day, we watch an episode or two from the Liberty Kids series through Netflix Instant Watch. While my kids are watching an episode I check out the episode information on the website. Here is a link to the first episode: The Boston Tea Party. Each page for the episodes tells the real historical events and people, what will happen to the fictional characters, and what lessons can be learned. From this, as well as listening to the episodes, I can get dates and names to add to our timeline: To make our timeline I used a poster with lines faintly printed on it and a permanent marker, and put it on a door in our main rooms. Through the episodes we have also learned about the events leading up to the Boston Tea Party and beginning of the war so I made sure we had room at the beginning to put those in as well.

A couple years ago I invested in History Through the Ages Timline Figures complete collection on CD. It is definitely the investment - I can print new figures any time I need them for any projects that we are doing - timelines, notebook pages, etc., so I feel it is worth it.

Following an episode I have my kids tell me what happened (Charlotte Mason - Narration), we discuss what events and people are real, which are fictional but true to the time period, and what probably wouldn't have happened. Then they draw a picture of their favorite part in their History Journals - sometimes its about real events and sometimes its about the fictional characters. I purchased hardback, spiral bound sketch books from a local art supply store for $10-$15. We have been using these journals for a couple years, and there is still room for more journaling, so we don't need to purchase a new journal every year.

Here is an example of a picture from A's journal - nothing fancy.

Depending on what happens in the Liberty Kids episodes we will also do other activities. For example, after the episode about Paul Revere's ride we read the Longfellow poem. We have read Patrick Henry's speech and the poem for The Shot Heard Round the World - Concord Hymn by Emerson, and other things like these that relate to the episodes.

On our 2nd history day of the week, I read from a biography from the time period we are studying. We are currently reading George Washington by the D'Aulaires.

While I read my kids can color a picture, which I made from our timeline collection or they can do another picture in their History Journals about what I am reading.

Summer Series #3 - Summer Weather

Outdoor Hour Challenges - Summer Series - #3 Summer Weather Observations

We wanted to follow up with our Shadow Stick observations from the Spring Series Challenge #2. I meant to have the kids do this in June, but I was 9 months pregnant and it didn't happen. Before we started we talked about whether they thought the shadows would be in the same place or not. They predicted they would be different.

Watching the sunrise:

For their journal pages we talked about trying to draw the skyline as much like the real one as they could. They decided to try it a few times before doing one in their journals.

N's journal page-
A's journal page

We observed the sunset on an outing to a local park

Fall 2010 Curriculum - Update

My plans for school this fall were a little too ambitious. With 3 girls 3.5 years and younger I quickly discovered I need to simplify. This isn't to say that we won't be doing all I originally planned, but for now our load will be lighter. I'm also going to include our daily schedule in this post. I try to keep things on a time schedule, but for the most part I have a daily outline that we work through. I have also built in time-cushions with most subjects for interruptions.

Here are our updated plans:

I try to start school around 8:30 with a 30 minute outdoor time. Gotta get some of the energy out.

School Block #1 - 1 hour

Devotional- 15 minutes: Discover the Scriptures: Old Testament Grades 1-3. We also sing a primary song, work on scripture memorization, and read from the Friend or other character building book, such as those listed in my first post.

Habit Training/Character Building- 15 minutes: We practice life skills and manners/appropriate behavior. For example, right now we are working on good bathroom habits- flushing, washing hands with soap and warm water, turning off the light and closing the door, etc. - which my kids were getting lazy about. For character building we are working on speaking politely to each other, during squabbles that start when someone takes away toys, teases, pesters, etc.

Math- 30 minutes: We are working through Math-U-See's Beta. We have been going very slowly through math the last couple years to make sure they are mastering the concepts. I know Austin is ahead in comprehension compared with Nyah, and knows many concepts we haven't yet covered with Math-U-See. However, because the teaching style in Math-U-See is unique I haven't tried to skip him ahead because I want him to be familiar with how concepts are taught in Math-U-See -- if that makes sense :). I believe when he can work more independently he will zip ahead on his own.

Preschool Block #1 - 30 minutes - I read picture books with the little girls. Right now we are reading favorites we have and I get some from the library on this list. During this time I ask the older kids to do a couple chores and then have a break time.

Recess/Snack Time - 30 minutes - "Recess" is what my kids call our break times. I try to get them outside again, but if they want to play inside they can.

School Block #2 - 1 hour

A days (Mon and Wed)- Science and Geography - 30 minutes each: Science we are doing Exploring Creation with Astronomy, following the schedule in the Notebooking Journal. Geography we are reading a chapter in Minn of the Mississippi each day and mapping the turtle's journey.

B days (Tue and Thu)- History and Nature Study - 30 minutes each: On one history day we watch a Liberty Kids episode, draw about it in our History Journals, and put events and people on a timeline. On the other day we read from George Washington by the D'Aulaires. For Nature Study we are doing the Handbook of Nature Study's challenges - right now we are trying to finish up the Summer Series.

Preschool Block #2 - 30 minutes - Singing time, action songs, math games, etc. - very relaxed!!! I am using Fun with Mommy & Me, Number & Logic Games for Preschoolers, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Older kids do a couple more chores and then have break time.

Lunch, Chores, & Recess - 1 hour

School Block #3 - 1 hour

Literature - Monday thru Thursday - 30 minutes: We will continue reading chapter books, poetry, and Shakespeare, but we will be doing them one at a time instead of trying to do them all at the same time. Fridays we will be doing the grammar lessons (15 minutes) from Milestones: English for the LDS Child Level A, but not any of the other lessons.

A days (Mon & Wed) - Composer Study - 15 minutes: Handel right now. Listening to The Story of Handel and Hallelujah Handel during breakfast or lunch. Super easy

B days (Tue & Thu) - Artist Study - 15 minutes: Finishing up Van Gogh until our art appreciation class starts in September. We will be studying Renoir. I will probably still do artist study at home as well - its a favorite subject around here.

We end our school days around 2pm with a 1 hour Quiet Time in bedrooms while the younger girls nap. This has been hard to implement during the summer, but will be easier once all the kids in our neighborhood are in school (our neighborhood has 2 public school districts, a charter school, and several families who attend other private/charter schools - no one starts at the same time!!).

Extracurricular - My kids also participate in Liberty Girls and Knights of Freedom twice a month. There is the art appreciation class being hosted by another homeschool mom. Austin does Boy Scouts weekly and Nyah has Activity Days twice a month (these are both church groups). We have weekly park days with our homeschool group. And the kids are also taking ice skating lessons right now.

I plan on posting more about juggling my little girls during school, what my older kids can do while I am reading, as well as showing more details about how we do specific subjects. That's the plan anyways and we all know how flexible those have to be!!!

4 Moms Open House - Living Areas

4 Moms Open House - Living Areas

Start at Smockity Frocks

We spend most of our time on our main floor in these 4 rooms - front room, school room, living room, and kitchen/dining. Please don't mind the mess or kids or tv - our little S is having one of those days where she is waking up from her naps every 30 to 45 minutes, and I'm at the point where I've pretty much given up trying to do anything but survive. I've probably "started" cleaning up a dozen times at least. And it took me hours to get down to the basement to mop up the flooding. Yeah, a lovely late-summer storm blasted through here today. So I've been counting down to when the babysitter is coming for the last 6 hours - she's be here in about an hour so I can take my older two kids to ice skating lessons (baby will come too) while hubby is out of town.

View from front door-

View from back door

Front Room - I confess this room is mostly used by the 2 & 3 year olds who like to pull the cushions off the couches and play for unimaginabley long periods of time. I try to put it back together when we are expecting visitors.

A mess? Who me? Couldn't be!!

We call this the school room even though we do school all over the house - here, on the couches, in the kitchen, etc. because its better than "formal dining room that we use for something else."
Living room is super simple - couch, recliner, and tv.

. . . and dog bed, car seat, dirty laundry, and toys :)

Hallway & stairs to our family room - the hallway goes in a big circle which comes in handy during the winter when the kids are rowdy - we can send them to run laps!!

Family room which we don't use very much. We have another tv here with the Wii and the kids have a Friday movie night.

Phew! Finished just in time - S is awake again!

Summer Series #9 - Evening Primrose

Outdoor Hour Challenges - Summer Series #9 - Evening Primrose

We were so excited when we realized we had Evening Primrose growing in our wild side yard that we did this challenge over the weekend. Here A and N are looking at the plant during the day when the flowers are closed.
Later, after baths and pajamas, we headed outside to watch the flowers open. There were many excited exclamations of "Mom, it moved!"

A flower up close - we also headed out later, when it was darker, to watch for insects. We saw a number of moths coming to drink from the flowers, but weren't able to get any good pictures!

We found this flower in our book A Pocket Guide to Herbs. The kids enjoyed learning about the Native Americans, as well as people today, using it for medicinal purposes.

Several Evening Primrose plants

We were reminded of flowers that open during the day - such as Morning Glory, or Bindweed,

We really enjoyed this challenge and the kids keep asking when they can go out at night to watch the flowers again.