You probably have never heard of her. I hadn't until just a couple of months ago. However, now I'm in the process of rethinking all of my homeschooling plans.
I had planned to follow the Well-Trained Mind. I bought the book, decided that this is how I want my children educated. They would be smart, able to think, and well-read. I also liked the focus on history and phonics.
Unfortunately this hasn't seemed to go as well as I had hoped. The cornerstone of the history studies--a four-year rotation beginning with the Ancient World and ending with the Modern seems really forced. It gives the same weight to Sumeria as the US. While I do think we are incredibly ethnocentric in studying only the US for many years, I do think my kids would enjoy studying the history of the US more than the ancients right now.
So I hunted around some more and stumbled upon this 19th century educator, Charlotte Mason. She is known for short lessons (approx. 15 min in length), copywork, narration, nature studies every afternoon, and a "twaddle"-free life. I can't go into depth right now everything that attracts me to CM, but I will say that I am making some changes in our routines and plans. I am so very happy about this. Things are going swimmingly right now. We don't do all of the big projects we might've, but Harry and Sam are learning so much from just telling me back what they've heard or read.
I'll post more later, but if you are curious, here is a sight with an overview of Charlotte Mason's ideas: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/methods/CharlotteMason.htm
Monday, February 26, 2007
too much information!
While I put Annika to bed at night, I use the internet. Not for her, but for me. I write my posts, look up library books, and search for helpful information. One thing I think is helpful for homeschoolers is the wealth of information out there. It's nice to find a review of a resource you think you might like or people who have the same philosophy as you.
Unfortunately, there is also a downside to all of that information. For two reasons. First it's easy to get caught up reading about how to homeschool and forget to actually homeschool. Second, there is always the tendency to compare myself to these women who have been homeschooling for years and seem to have it down.
The first issue is where I have to make myself leave the computer, stop looking up books, and trust all of the work I've done to make things work actually will. I don't need that one more, really great book that will tie everything together and make Harry and Sam super smart. I just need the five other, pretty great books that will do what I need them to--help Harry and Sam want to know more so they can find the books they like by themselves.
I love information and the fact that there is a fact out there that I'm not aware of kills me. But I need to leave the computer and actually teach my children something. (Not now really, it's bed time, but tomorrow I will--both leave the computer and teach them something.)
As far as the comparisons go. It's a lot less clear-cut than just turning off the computer. I do get valuable information from these women. I just need to remember that I am me. My kids are not their kids. My life is not theirs. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
I do believe that I am doing the right thing for my family. But I think I need to spend less time reading about other people. So if I'm scarce, that's why. Just a little more information for you.
Unfortunately, there is also a downside to all of that information. For two reasons. First it's easy to get caught up reading about how to homeschool and forget to actually homeschool. Second, there is always the tendency to compare myself to these women who have been homeschooling for years and seem to have it down.
The first issue is where I have to make myself leave the computer, stop looking up books, and trust all of the work I've done to make things work actually will. I don't need that one more, really great book that will tie everything together and make Harry and Sam super smart. I just need the five other, pretty great books that will do what I need them to--help Harry and Sam want to know more so they can find the books they like by themselves.
I love information and the fact that there is a fact out there that I'm not aware of kills me. But I need to leave the computer and actually teach my children something. (Not now really, it's bed time, but tomorrow I will--both leave the computer and teach them something.)
As far as the comparisons go. It's a lot less clear-cut than just turning off the computer. I do get valuable information from these women. I just need to remember that I am me. My kids are not their kids. My life is not theirs. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
I do believe that I am doing the right thing for my family. But I think I need to spend less time reading about other people. So if I'm scarce, that's why. Just a little more information for you.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Snow Day
Yesterday we went to the snow. When we got there we went on a bus to the super tram to go to the snow. Once we got out on the super tram we went up, up, and away! Then we went inside to get some food. Daddy wanted a hamburger, but it would take twenty minutes. So instead he got some chicken and rice. I got some food and lemonade. Sam and Mommy got rootbeer.
Then we went to the snow. We had snowball fights. Everyone got Mommy, then everyone got Sam and he was all white. We made a snowman. We rolled snow down a hill and then we put them on top of each other. Then we made snow angels. We laid down and wiggled our arms and legs we went "swish, swish."
Then my hands were freezing and Daddy put his gloves on my hands. When we were going up to the restaurant Mommy put her gloves on my hands and they were warmer. We went up to get hot cocoa. Sam wanted chocolate milk but they didn't have any. But we had hot cocoa.
Then we went down the tram. Once we got down we were going to walk down to the car, but I saw the bus. So we got back in line and we got back on the bus. Then we went and got in the car. And we went home. We watched Baby Einstein and I played some games. A race game and some war games.
We got to Panera Bread and that's where we had our dinner, then we went home and fell fast asleep.
By Harry
Then we went to the snow. We had snowball fights. Everyone got Mommy, then everyone got Sam and he was all white. We made a snowman. We rolled snow down a hill and then we put them on top of each other. Then we made snow angels. We laid down and wiggled our arms and legs we went "swish, swish."
Then my hands were freezing and Daddy put his gloves on my hands. When we were going up to the restaurant Mommy put her gloves on my hands and they were warmer. We went up to get hot cocoa. Sam wanted chocolate milk but they didn't have any. But we had hot cocoa.
Then we went down the tram. Once we got down we were going to walk down to the car, but I saw the bus. So we got back in line and we got back on the bus. Then we went and got in the car. And we went home. We watched Baby Einstein and I played some games. A race game and some war games.
We got to Panera Bread and that's where we had our dinner, then we went home and fell fast asleep.
By Harry
The Plan for March
at least the first half. (Roughly 13 March)
Math:
Finish MUS Alpha through lesson 18
Recite his addition facts up to 10 with no errors
Reading/Language Arts:
Beatrix Potter Unit--covers many of her little books, also has copywork and geography components (and lots of crafts)
History:
We are not going to continue with our Ancient World studies right now. Instead we will work on the history of the United States. I'm reserving books from the library right now to use. We'll start with the landing at Plymouth Rock
Also we will create a "Book of Centuries"--sort of a time line in a book
Science:
Move away from just leaves to plants themselves
Keep watching their bean plants and seeing what they do
Art:
Van Gogh--we're having fun with him
Music:
Beethoven--right now a little about his live (birth and death dates) and recognition
Poetry:
We'll all memorize something that I haven't decided on yet
That's it so far, but I think it'll work for now. Check back to see what we're using for resources another time.
Math:
Finish MUS Alpha through lesson 18
Recite his addition facts up to 10 with no errors
Reading/Language Arts:
Beatrix Potter Unit--covers many of her little books, also has copywork and geography components (and lots of crafts)
History:
We are not going to continue with our Ancient World studies right now. Instead we will work on the history of the United States. I'm reserving books from the library right now to use. We'll start with the landing at Plymouth Rock
Also we will create a "Book of Centuries"--sort of a time line in a book
Science:
Move away from just leaves to plants themselves
Keep watching their bean plants and seeing what they do
Art:
Van Gogh--we're having fun with him
Music:
Beethoven--right now a little about his live (birth and death dates) and recognition
Poetry:
We'll all memorize something that I haven't decided on yet
That's it so far, but I think it'll work for now. Check back to see what we're using for resources another time.
Monday, February 12, 2007
The Scientific Method of Madness
I think if there is anything that is being neglected that shouldn't be is science. We've done a lot of half-hearted things so far.
1. Looked at leaves and discussed their structure.
2. Soaked beans to see which would open up fastest (don't do that, it just gets messy and icky)
3. Grown a lima bean in a cup in the kitchen window. So far that's been pretty successful, but we need to plant them tomorrow.
4. Taken a walk around a pond to see what's there. We saw a duck. Yep, one lone living thing. It was fun, but I was really hoping for more. Who knows, maybe the next time we go.
5. Annika walks and collecting. That's pretty cool, but I don't always follow up like I should.
Yesterday Jason had the boys looking at different things under the microscope. I kept wanting to say, "wait, let me get a pencil and a paper, you can write down what you see," but I held my tongue and they had fun with Jason.
I just realized that Harry goes to a science class at the coop, so I'm technically off the hook for that. Yay! Even if he does think it's boring. But that's okay, he's just committed for the month.
1. Looked at leaves and discussed their structure.
2. Soaked beans to see which would open up fastest (don't do that, it just gets messy and icky)
3. Grown a lima bean in a cup in the kitchen window. So far that's been pretty successful, but we need to plant them tomorrow.
4. Taken a walk around a pond to see what's there. We saw a duck. Yep, one lone living thing. It was fun, but I was really hoping for more. Who knows, maybe the next time we go.
5. Annika walks and collecting. That's pretty cool, but I don't always follow up like I should.
Yesterday Jason had the boys looking at different things under the microscope. I kept wanting to say, "wait, let me get a pencil and a paper, you can write down what you see," but I held my tongue and they had fun with Jason.
I just realized that Harry goes to a science class at the coop, so I'm technically off the hook for that. Yay! Even if he does think it's boring. But that's okay, he's just committed for the month.
Ancient History, Modern Boy
Like I've said already, we started off our history studies at the beginning of time. We use Story of the World--the book and the activity guide. Which is good because I don't have to do a lot of searching for things to do or maps to color.
In the beginning...people were nomads and ate lizards. We talked about different foods they may have eaten (there is a quiz online that Harry had fun with). We looked at cave paintings and made our own. Decided we wouldn't necessarily want to be nomads and moved into the agricultural revolution. We have our own garden so planting seeds is a normal part of Harry's life and I think that helped make sense of what we were reading. We read quite a few books about Early People and their tools and weapons. Harry now can point out a flint in any book he reads.
Now we have moved onto Ancient Egypt. We've located the Nile Delta and talked about the Double Crown King--Narmer. The boys pretend to be Egyptians now when they play. I constantly have to remind them to play nice since neither wants to be the losing king! We made crowns and collars to wear when being Pharaohs. We even made one for Annika. And then of course we've now moved into the gods and goddess portion of our studies. We will be finishing that and moving onto hieroglyphics this week.
That's as far as we've gotten not because we don't like what we're doing, but because we do. It's all interesting and there are so many books to read. Also, since Jason and I have been to Egypt, it's fun to look at the books and pictures and tell Harry what it's really like.
The one thing I wish I'd done a better job in is listing all of the books we've used to supplement SOTW. Our main book is the Kingfisher World History Encyclopedia. But we also use the Usborne First History Encyclopedia. If anyone has a source for cheap Usborne books, let me know. I love most all of them.
In the beginning...people were nomads and ate lizards. We talked about different foods they may have eaten (there is a quiz online that Harry had fun with). We looked at cave paintings and made our own. Decided we wouldn't necessarily want to be nomads and moved into the agricultural revolution. We have our own garden so planting seeds is a normal part of Harry's life and I think that helped make sense of what we were reading. We read quite a few books about Early People and their tools and weapons. Harry now can point out a flint in any book he reads.
Now we have moved onto Ancient Egypt. We've located the Nile Delta and talked about the Double Crown King--Narmer. The boys pretend to be Egyptians now when they play. I constantly have to remind them to play nice since neither wants to be the losing king! We made crowns and collars to wear when being Pharaohs. We even made one for Annika. And then of course we've now moved into the gods and goddess portion of our studies. We will be finishing that and moving onto hieroglyphics this week.
That's as far as we've gotten not because we don't like what we're doing, but because we do. It's all interesting and there are so many books to read. Also, since Jason and I have been to Egypt, it's fun to look at the books and pictures and tell Harry what it's really like.
The one thing I wish I'd done a better job in is listing all of the books we've used to supplement SOTW. Our main book is the Kingfisher World History Encyclopedia. But we also use the Usborne First History Encyclopedia. If anyone has a source for cheap Usborne books, let me know. I love most all of them.
Reading: First Month
Reading is a little, okay a lot, trickier to document than math. I think everyone should just rest assured right now that we spend a couple of hours reading a day. It may not be with everyone at all times and they may not be sitting next to me the whole time, but even while they play trains, I'm probably reading to them.
In January we focused a lot on Owl Moon. We read it, Harry narrated it. (I didn't write it down and now I could kick myself). We checked out owl books from the library and decided that while big owls are pretty, baby owls are "pretty gross." We looked at what they eat and when they fly. We talked about where they live and what it would be like to go owling. But we didn't actually go owling. We also tried to make paintings that "looked cold" using some of the techniques in the book. Finally, at the end of this we made paper bag owls.
When we finished that we read A New Coat for Anna. Harry narrated and I did write it down. It was a lot more detailed than I thought it would be. We decided the book probably took place in Germany right after WWII (that caught his interest). We talked about weaving and shearing and all of the steps that go into making a new coat. I attempted to have Harry make a lapbook for it, but it didn't quite go anywhere. Harry wove paper in an attempt to talk about weaving. We check out a bunch of books on weaving, shearing, dying--all things wool. It was a lot of fun. We also read a couple of other books that describe the time period in different places in Europe. The one I liked best was Boxes for Katje. It made me want to plant tulips!
The last January book was Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening. This is obviously the poem by Robert Frost and the hardest one for Harry to get into. But was talked about cold and how it made us feel. I think I should have tried to have Harry memorize some, but next poem I will.
And now in February we have Allen Say. I've already talked a lot about what I am going to do, but what have I done? We've read these books already: Grandfather's Journey, Emma's Rug, and How My Parents Learned to Eat. Harry has done narration on all of them. So far his favorite is How my Parents... which isn't written by Say, but illustrated by him. I think Harry likes that one because we have it as a book on tape. And to him cassette tapes are a marvel of modern technology. He had no idea what it was or what it did when I first handed it to him. I thought that was hilarious. He spent the entire day on Friday playing the tape over and over again. He also has been telling me about some of the details in the pictures and the story since then. With Grandfather's Journey we labeled a map with the journey from Japan to California. I want to do one for the journey through the US, but I think that will have to be tomorrow. We also wrote a letter to Harry's grandparents asking for information on our ancestors--where they came from, why, who they were, etc. We'll mail it soon, really. We have a few more books to read and I have a bunch more on Japan itself to read. So we're still in the middle of Japan. Emma's Rug wasn't too interesting to Harry, although he did narrate it.
And that's the "official" reading. Harry reads a lot. He's read a couple of Henry and Mudge books, but he isn't really interested in them. He and Jason are still reading Eragon. I'm reading him Little House in the Big Woods and Poppy and Rye. Harry also reads to Sam a lot. Which may be my favorite thing about homeschooling.
PS, I don't know what's going on with the font, but it's getting late and I'll try to figure it out tomorrow.
In January we focused a lot on Owl Moon. We read it, Harry narrated it. (I didn't write it down and now I could kick myself). We checked out owl books from the library and decided that while big owls are pretty, baby owls are "pretty gross." We looked at what they eat and when they fly. We talked about where they live and what it would be like to go owling. But we didn't actually go owling. We also tried to make paintings that "looked cold" using some of the techniques in the book. Finally, at the end of this we made paper bag owls.
When we finished that we read A New Coat for Anna. Harry narrated and I did write it down. It was a lot more detailed than I thought it would be. We decided the book probably took place in Germany right after WWII (that caught his interest). We talked about weaving and shearing and all of the steps that go into making a new coat. I attempted to have Harry make a lapbook for it, but it didn't quite go anywhere. Harry wove paper in an attempt to talk about weaving. We check out a bunch of books on weaving, shearing, dying--all things wool. It was a lot of fun. We also read a couple of other books that describe the time period in different places in Europe. The one I liked best was Boxes for Katje. It made me want to plant tulips!
The last January book was Stopping By Woods on A Snowy Evening. This is obviously the poem by Robert Frost and the hardest one for Harry to get into. But was talked about cold and how it made us feel. I think I should have tried to have Harry memorize some, but next poem I will.
And now in February we have Allen Say. I've already talked a lot about what I am going to do, but what have I done? We've read these books already: Grandfather's Journey, Emma's Rug, and How My Parents Learned to Eat. Harry has done narration on all of them. So far his favorite is How my Parents... which isn't written by Say, but illustrated by him. I think Harry likes that one because we have it as a book on tape. And to him cassette tapes are a marvel of modern technology. He had no idea what it was or what it did when I first handed it to him. I thought that was hilarious. He spent the entire day on Friday playing the tape over and over again. He also has been telling me about some of the details in the pictures and the story since then. With Grandfather's Journey we labeled a map with the journey from Japan to California. I want to do one for the journey through the US, but I think that will have to be tomorrow. We also wrote a letter to Harry's grandparents asking for information on our ancestors--where they came from, why, who they were, etc. We'll mail it soon, really. We have a few more books to read and I have a bunch more on Japan itself to read. So we're still in the middle of Japan. Emma's Rug wasn't too interesting to Harry, although he did narrate it.
And that's the "official" reading. Harry reads a lot. He's read a couple of Henry and Mudge books, but he isn't really interested in them. He and Jason are still reading Eragon. I'm reading him Little House in the Big Woods and Poppy and Rye. Harry also reads to Sam a lot. Which may be my favorite thing about homeschooling.
PS, I don't know what's going on with the font, but it's getting late and I'll try to figure it out tomorrow.
First Month Math
Like I said before, we were to do lessons 7-12 in MUS Alpha. Instead Harry has done lessons 1-9. We started at the beginning because it's easier to understand how the lessons sound and are presented starting at the beginning.
We've also done a bunch of math computer games and practices. The best one is Math Compass. It's a no-frills program of drills that Harry just loves! It's hilarious how into he gets.
We also made a great big cube with stickers on each side from 1-6. (Think great big die.) We throw it twice and add the numbers together. Low-tech, but a lot of fun (at least until someone loses an eye).
So that's math for the month. I actually think Harry's got his addition facts down pretty well, I just want to cement them into him a little more before we go onto subtraction.
We've also done a bunch of math computer games and practices. The best one is Math Compass. It's a no-frills program of drills that Harry just loves! It's hilarious how into he gets.
We also made a great big cube with stickers on each side from 1-6. (Think great big die.) We throw it twice and add the numbers together. Low-tech, but a lot of fun (at least until someone loses an eye).
So that's math for the month. I actually think Harry's got his addition facts down pretty well, I just want to cement them into him a little more before we go onto subtraction.
Documentation, Schmocumentation!
I have our monthly meeting in the morning, so I've been trying to think of what we've done lately. I've realized that I don't have a lot of paperwork to take in, we've done only a couple of worksheets, I haven't typed out many narrations, and a lot of what we have done is just what we do.
For instance today we:
1. Got up and went to speech. Harry helped me get everyone ready to go--he was a big help. That is something we've been working on; seeing what needs to be done and doing it.
2. First Language Lessons: One of the few things that we can show the consultant. However, even that isn't written daily. However, I think today's lesson is perfect for "showing off." Harry wrote common and proper nouns for some examples I gave him (ie: I gave him the word store, he had to decide if it was common or proper and give an example of the opposite). So we have writing practice as well as grammar practice.
3. Math U See: The goal was to do lessons 7-12. We didn't get to lesson 12, but that's because I had Harry start in lesson 1. It's not easy to come to a new math program and start in the middle (or lesson 7 in this case). So he's actually made more progress than I first thought and it is pretty easy to show that with math.
4. Ancient Egypt and Story of the World: I read Cry of the Benu Bird to Harry and Sam--it is a picture book about the Ancient Egyptian creation myth. I also read from SOTW--the section on gods and goddesses in Egyptian society. It's actually a difficult thing for him to understand so we'll be spending more time on this subject. Also partly because it's Egypt and I've planned to spend the month on Egypt. I don't have any written work from this though so it's hard to "show" that it happened.
5. Lincoln's Birthday: I printed a little book about Lincoln so we read through that. There were comprehension questions, so I had him do a couple of those, but not all of them because I know he understood what we were talking about. We did penny rubs and looked for the little statue on the back of the penny. We discovered that crayons work better than pencils for getting details. We also made a "log cabin" out of pretzels and a milk carton. That was fun. I took a picture.
6. Harry read to Sam after we went to the park. Obviously aside from the mental picture I have of that, I don't have any documentation.
7. I read Little House in the Big Woods to both boys. It's interesting to me how into it Harry gets.
Anyway, that was the learning portion of the day. At least the planned portion. We all know that there is much learning in just living and growing each day.
For instance today we:
1. Got up and went to speech. Harry helped me get everyone ready to go--he was a big help. That is something we've been working on; seeing what needs to be done and doing it.
2. First Language Lessons: One of the few things that we can show the consultant. However, even that isn't written daily. However, I think today's lesson is perfect for "showing off." Harry wrote common and proper nouns for some examples I gave him (ie: I gave him the word store, he had to decide if it was common or proper and give an example of the opposite). So we have writing practice as well as grammar practice.
3. Math U See: The goal was to do lessons 7-12. We didn't get to lesson 12, but that's because I had Harry start in lesson 1. It's not easy to come to a new math program and start in the middle (or lesson 7 in this case). So he's actually made more progress than I first thought and it is pretty easy to show that with math.
4. Ancient Egypt and Story of the World: I read Cry of the Benu Bird to Harry and Sam--it is a picture book about the Ancient Egyptian creation myth. I also read from SOTW--the section on gods and goddesses in Egyptian society. It's actually a difficult thing for him to understand so we'll be spending more time on this subject. Also partly because it's Egypt and I've planned to spend the month on Egypt. I don't have any written work from this though so it's hard to "show" that it happened.
5. Lincoln's Birthday: I printed a little book about Lincoln so we read through that. There were comprehension questions, so I had him do a couple of those, but not all of them because I know he understood what we were talking about. We did penny rubs and looked for the little statue on the back of the penny. We discovered that crayons work better than pencils for getting details. We also made a "log cabin" out of pretzels and a milk carton. That was fun. I took a picture.
6. Harry read to Sam after we went to the park. Obviously aside from the mental picture I have of that, I don't have any documentation.
7. I read Little House in the Big Woods to both boys. It's interesting to me how into it Harry gets.
Anyway, that was the learning portion of the day. At least the planned portion. We all know that there is much learning in just living and growing each day.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Exactly the Same!
Harry: "The Vikings were just like Little House in the Big Woods!"
Me: "Really?!"
Harry: "Yea, they both had food storage in the outside!"
Me: "Yep, I think you're right!"
Hmmm...methinks something is working!
Me: "Really?!"
Harry: "Yea, they both had food storage in the outside!"
Me: "Yep, I think you're right!"
Hmmm...methinks something is working!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Coming Up in February
This is a short month, so I'm going to try to cram all of this into it.
1. History: Ancient Egypt. We plan to do projects, read history books, fiction books, look at maps. All kinds of things about Egypt. It's fun for me because I get to show Harry our pictures and for Harry because really, what kid doesn't get into Egypt?!
2. Reading: Allen Say. I'm really excited about this. I love his books--he has a wonderful style of writing, sort of calm and collected but it makes you want more. Also he is an amazing artist. Even though his books are in the childrens' section, I firmly believe everyone should read them. Along with this we'll talk about and study Japan. Adam also sent Harry and Sam beautiful calligraphy sets from Japan so we'll use those too.
3. Math: We'll just continue along how we've been going.
4. Science: We'll continue talking about leaves and plants. The boys have lima beans (yay) growing in our windowsill so we've been talking about beans and growing things too. Also, this is a big month for the garden. Jason and Harry have already planted the our peas so he'll check on those too.
5. Art and Music: We'll mostly try to get into a good rhythm with those.
I think next I'll try to post what we will be using for our Allen Say and Egypt studies.
1. History: Ancient Egypt. We plan to do projects, read history books, fiction books, look at maps. All kinds of things about Egypt. It's fun for me because I get to show Harry our pictures and for Harry because really, what kid doesn't get into Egypt?!
2. Reading: Allen Say. I'm really excited about this. I love his books--he has a wonderful style of writing, sort of calm and collected but it makes you want more. Also he is an amazing artist. Even though his books are in the childrens' section, I firmly believe everyone should read them. Along with this we'll talk about and study Japan. Adam also sent Harry and Sam beautiful calligraphy sets from Japan so we'll use those too.
3. Math: We'll just continue along how we've been going.
4. Science: We'll continue talking about leaves and plants. The boys have lima beans (yay) growing in our windowsill so we've been talking about beans and growing things too. Also, this is a big month for the garden. Jason and Harry have already planted the our peas so he'll check on those too.
5. Art and Music: We'll mostly try to get into a good rhythm with those.
I think next I'll try to post what we will be using for our Allen Say and Egypt studies.
Friday, February 02, 2007
So, how's it going?
Okay, I'm getting my thinking together about what works and what doesn't.
1. Reading: We love the picture books. I love snuggling and reading to the kids. It's not easy with Annika , but it's fun. The Charlotte Mason idea of Narration is great, it really does work. The only issue I have is what should Harry be reading on his own? He's past the easy readers except for content. He read the Henry and Mudge book in 30 minutes and understood it well (see below). Maybe he should be reading Stuart Little to me...I need to think (even more) on that.
2. Math: Math U See is great. Harry loves it. He can finish a lesson in only 15 minutes. I'm becoming a big believer in the 15-minute lessons Charlotte Mason advocated. It's enough time for him to do what he needs to do without getting bored or antsy. The plan is for him to work steadily for that 15 minutes and not dawdle so we can move on.
3. History: Love it. We are having fun. We did the cave paintings the other day which was a big hit. I also checked out the gross food book called: It was Gross and We Ate It. We have several big fans here.
4. Science/Nature Studies: mmmm...This one seems to be the hardest to do consistently. It's been raining and coldish here this week, so no one has wanted to go out and do anything. Including me. Next week, back on track. I have some ideas, I just need to implement them. (Ai, there's the rub.) (I promise to never do that again.)
5. Music/Art: I got a new book for art the other day and we looked through it yesterday. Harry really liked it, so I think we'll kind of go through the artists in there and supplement a little. I don't really know. Music--I've been turning classical on in the morning, but I tend to get a bit tired of it on all day, so we're working on that too.
Overall we're getting into a rhythm I think. Although it's so tenuous almost anything messes with it. It's a process...yeah that's the ticket.
More tomorrow. I'll also try to add some pictures of our cave paintings so it's not all just text.
1. Reading: We love the picture books. I love snuggling and reading to the kids. It's not easy with Annika , but it's fun. The Charlotte Mason idea of Narration is great, it really does work. The only issue I have is what should Harry be reading on his own? He's past the easy readers except for content. He read the Henry and Mudge book in 30 minutes and understood it well (see below). Maybe he should be reading Stuart Little to me...I need to think (even more) on that.
2. Math: Math U See is great. Harry loves it. He can finish a lesson in only 15 minutes. I'm becoming a big believer in the 15-minute lessons Charlotte Mason advocated. It's enough time for him to do what he needs to do without getting bored or antsy. The plan is for him to work steadily for that 15 minutes and not dawdle so we can move on.
3. History: Love it. We are having fun. We did the cave paintings the other day which was a big hit. I also checked out the gross food book called: It was Gross and We Ate It. We have several big fans here.
4. Science/Nature Studies: mmmm...This one seems to be the hardest to do consistently. It's been raining and coldish here this week, so no one has wanted to go out and do anything. Including me. Next week, back on track. I have some ideas, I just need to implement them. (Ai, there's the rub.) (I promise to never do that again.)
5. Music/Art: I got a new book for art the other day and we looked through it yesterday. Harry really liked it, so I think we'll kind of go through the artists in there and supplement a little. I don't really know. Music--I've been turning classical on in the morning, but I tend to get a bit tired of it on all day, so we're working on that too.
Overall we're getting into a rhythm I think. Although it's so tenuous almost anything messes with it. It's a process...yeah that's the ticket.
More tomorrow. I'll also try to add some pictures of our cave paintings so it's not all just text.
What, and How, We Read
I put a bunch of new books into the "Harry's Readings" column just now and it occurred to me that most of them could have been put in the "Family Read-alouds" too because we read them together. I do not send Harry off to his room to read a book and then come back and report on it! I don't particularly want to kill his desire to read.
Most likely when we read the books Harry's column, we were sitting on the red couch, Harry on one side, Sam on the other, both of them trying to get more space on my lap than the other. Annika was probably either on my lap trying to get off to play or playing and suddenly realizing that she wasn't on my lap and needed to be! Our read-alouds are family affairs because they have to be. We are all together, we all like snuggling, and hey, I'm pretty good at reading books out loud. We enjoy it.
The main difference between the Harry column and the Family column is why we read the book. If it was for a lesson I put the books in Harry's column. If we were just reading, it goes into the Family column.
Also, if Harry picked the book out at the library for himself, then it goes in his column (ie, Hush, Little Alien--definitely not for a lesson). Sam's column is shortest because he's almost always involved anyway in both the lesson and the fun read-alouds. I only put the books that I read specifically to him in his column.
How's that for long-winded?!
Most likely when we read the books Harry's column, we were sitting on the red couch, Harry on one side, Sam on the other, both of them trying to get more space on my lap than the other. Annika was probably either on my lap trying to get off to play or playing and suddenly realizing that she wasn't on my lap and needed to be! Our read-alouds are family affairs because they have to be. We are all together, we all like snuggling, and hey, I'm pretty good at reading books out loud. We enjoy it.
The main difference between the Harry column and the Family column is why we read the book. If it was for a lesson I put the books in Harry's column. If we were just reading, it goes into the Family column.
Also, if Harry picked the book out at the library for himself, then it goes in his column (ie, Hush, Little Alien--definitely not for a lesson). Sam's column is shortest because he's almost always involved anyway in both the lesson and the fun read-alouds. I only put the books that I read specifically to him in his column.
How's that for long-winded?!
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Henry and Mudge
and Annie's Good Move
by Harry
Henry is a boy who was a cousin with a girl named Annie and she was going to move. Her cousin helped he pack. Then she was nervous and she went under the blankets with Henry's dog Mudge. She got some spots because she was nervous. Then they were all ready to go to the new house. Some of her spots went away. Then Henry's Dad lit a candle and all of her spots went away.
The End!
by Harry
Henry is a boy who was a cousin with a girl named Annie and she was going to move. Her cousin helped he pack. Then she was nervous and she went under the blankets with Henry's dog Mudge. She got some spots because she was nervous. Then they were all ready to go to the new house. Some of her spots went away. Then Henry's Dad lit a candle and all of her spots went away.
The End!
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